When Taylor Swift announced her upcoming album The Life of a Showgirl, my mind immediately lit up with visions of sequins, spotlights, and the intoxicating energy of a stage alive with performers. Back in the dazzling, high-pressure world of the Ziegfeld Follies in the 1920s, showgirls were the celebrities everyone talked about. Their names blazed from marquees and were splashed across gossip columns, and admirers crowded their stage doors with diamond bracelets in hand. Their lives radiated with glamour, but behind all the razzle-dazzle lay relentless hard work and sacrifice.
While doing research for my novel The Show Girl — set in that very same world — I fell in love with these performers. I dove deep into the glitter and grit of that era, learning how showgirls wore costumes packed with beading and rhinestones, how their towering feathered headdresses could weigh as much as a small child, and how their grueling rehearsal and performance schedules pushed them to their limits of stamina and grace. That got me thinking about Taylor Swift’s intense prep for the nearly-three-year Eras tour, where she sang and danced for three hours straight on every single stop, clad in different sequined bodysuits.
If the wait until Oct. 3 for Taylor’s Life of a Showgirl to be released feels unbearable, step back in time with these 10 books full of showgirl pizzazz, speakeasy intrigue, and all the sparkle, sass, and style you need to keep you going until the album drops.
The Show Girl by Nicola Harrison
Set in the final glittering years of the Roaring Twenties, The Show Girl follows Olive McCormick, a determined young woman from the Midwest, who leaves behind her disapproving family to chase her dreams of becoming a Ziegfeld showgirl on Broadway. When she meets the charming Archie Carmichael, he sweeps her off her feet, embracing her modern spirit, fierce independence, and relentless ambition. But Olive is hiding a devastating secret from her past, one that could shatter both her career and her chance at love. As her two worlds collide, she’s forced to choose between protecting the life she’s worked so hard to build and revealing the truth to the man she can’t imagine living without.
The Spectacular by Fiona Davis
This novel introduces us to a different kind of showgirl: a Radio City Rockette. In 1956, Marion Brooks escapes the expectations of a suburban future and an engagement to her high school sweetheart by auditioning for the prestigious New York City show. She plunges into dazzling performances at the iconic Radio City Music Hall, complete with grueling rehearsals, theatrical grandeur and a whole lot of synchronized kicks. But when the razzle-dazzle of showbiz is overshadowed by the chilling threat of the Big Apple Bomber, Marion’s world shifts from stage magic to real danger.
China Dolls by Lisa See
China Dolls follows three young women from very different backgrounds who meet while auditioning to be dancers at the exclusive Forbidden City nightclub in San Francisco. Each has left behind a complicated past and is chasing her own vision of stardom. As they navigate friendship, rivalry, love affairs, and the glittering but often cutthroat nightclub world, they face challenges shaped by prejudice, family expectations, and the turbulence of World War II.
The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by Noelle Salazar
When a costume conservator at the Smithsonian discovers the name “Zora Lily” hidden beneath a designer label on a gown once worn by Greta Garbo, readers are transported back to 1924 Seattle, where Zora, a gifted young seamstress, balances caring for her siblings with her dreams of becoming a fashion designer like Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin. An influential connection draws her into the exciting and dangerous world of jazz, speakeasies, and Prohibition-era nightlife, where she has to confront the cost of her ambition.
Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor
You can’t conjure up the glamour of the 1920s — the flappers, the champagne-fueled parties, and the shimmering beaded dresses — without The Great Gatsby instantly coming to mind. Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor reimagines F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel by giving the spotlight to Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy in the years leading up to and following Gatsby’s death. This is a tale of ambition, secrets, and the resilience of women determined to turn their “champagne problems” into sparkling triumphs.
Feuding Fan Dancers by Leslie Zemeckis
If you’re craving some real-life showgirl scandal, Leslie Zemeckis’ Feuding Fan Dancers serves it up in spades. It unearths the forgotten rivalry between Sally Rand and Faith Bacon — two dazzling icons who each claimed to have invented the infamous fan dance. Packed with stage mothers, slick-talking producers, shady con artists, and classic mobsters, Zemeckis’s novel peels back the glitter to reveal the grit, giving these trailblazing women in entertainment the legendary status they’ve always deserved.
Century Girl by Lauren Redniss
Doris Eaton Travis, the last living star of the Ziegfeld Follies, was a major inspiration for me when writing my novel The Show Girl. Throughout the process, Lauren Redniss’ graphic novel Century Girl, highlighting the brightest moments in early show business and the intimate milestones of Travis’s extraordinary life, sat open on my desk. The youngest Ziegfeld girl ever — she joined the Follies at just 14, lying about her age to get in — she went on to live to 106. Even in her hundreds, she danced in the Ziegfeld Follies reunion, heels clicking and feathers swaying, knowing she had a reputation to uphold.
All the Beautiful Girls by Elizabeth J. Church
If you’ve had your fill of the Roaring Twenties, step into 1967 Las Vegas for a showgirl story with a different kind of buzz. Ruby Wild heads to the Rat Pack’s playground to make a name for herself as a troupe dancer, but when the competition proves fierce, she swaps chorus lines for showgirl kicks in sky-high headdresses and sequined costumes. Life under the neon lights brims with excitement and opulence, but beneath the glamorous façade lies a more complicated truth — a tumultuous quest for acceptance, belonging, and love.
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
City of Girls, set in 1940s New York City, follows Vivian Morris, who, at age 19, is sent to live with her unconventional Aunt Peg, owner of a crumbling midtown theater. Immersed in a world of showgirls, actors, and bohemians, Vivian dives headfirst into the chaos — until one reckless mistake changes the course of her life. With backstage drama, complicated love stories, and a heroine who owns her choices, mistakes and all, this novel serves up pure “mirrorball” energy, spinning in the spotlight and reflecting every facet of a woman’s life.
Flapper by Joshua Zeitz
In the 1920s, there were showgirls and there were flappers, and if you want to delve deeper into these worlds and see where Taylor finds her inspiration, then Flapper by Joshua Zeitz is your perfect historical companion. This lively account of the decade dives into the lives of women who redefined American culture — Zelda Fitzgerald, Clara Bow, Coco Chanel, and more — each blazing a trail with style, independence, and fearless ambition. From jazz-soaked nights to the birth of modern celebrity, mass media, and a cultural revolution, Zeitz captures the spirit of a generation that danced, dared, and refused to be confined. And if that doesn’t sound like a certain showgirl that we all know and love, then I don’t know what does.
Nicola Harrison is the author of Montauk, The Show Girl, and Hotel Laguna. Her next novel, The Island Club, will be released April 28, 2026. Follow her on Instagram or visit www.nicolaharrison.com learn more about her books.
