9 Famous Books Published the Year of the First World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has begun, bringing with it one of the most devoted fan bases of any sporting event. According to Tom Dunmore's Historical Dictionary of Soccer, the World Cup is even more popular than the Olympics, earning an estimated viewership of 3.57 billion in 2018 and 5 billion in 2022, approximately 47% and 62% of the global population, respectively. That kind of visibility would have been unthinkable for the World Cup’s creators in 1930.

1930 was a tough year. Just a few months after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Great Depression was hitting Americans hard. Similar financial crises were happening around the globe, leaving people desperate for something to enjoy. The first World Cup was one such source of entertainment. Another was literature, which gave authors an outlet to work through the chaos of World War I and the subsequent economic crashes.

That year brought thrilling mystery novels, new avenues for children’s literature, and groundbreaking works of literature and academic scholarship. While many 1930 classics have been forgotten in the 96 years since, the following nine works became famous by revolutionizing their fields and inspiring the writers that have come since.

1. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
2. Dick and Jane by Zerna Addis Sharp, William S. Gray, and William H. Elson
3. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
4. The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
5. Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud
6. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
7. Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future by Olaf Stapledon
8. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
9. Cimarron by Edna Ferber

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Considered one of the best novels of the 20th century, William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is a complex narrative to work through, with 15 different narrators and a stream-of-consciousness style. The story follows the family of the recently deceased Addie Bundren as they try to fulfill her request to be buried in Jefferson, Mississippi. On the journey to Jefferson, the reader enters the minds of each family member and many of their acquaintances, learning the depth of history, motivations, and conflict that can emerge on a simple quest.

Dick and Jane by Zerna Addis Sharp, William S. Gray, and William H. Elson

The Dick and Jane series debuted in Elson-Gray Readers in 1930. The simple stories followed the “look-say” method of sightreading, which taught new vocabulary words to young readers through context and repetition. When the Elson-Gray primers stopped printing, the series continued with books for students from first through ninth grade. The books were used in 80% of first-grade classes in the United States by the 1950s, making them some of the most memorable stories for the Baby Boomer generation.

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

As the source material for one of the most significant films in the noir genre, The Maltese Falcon is one of the best-known detective novels from the 1930s. The novel follows Sam Spade as he tries to survive the scheming of femme fatale Miss Wonderly. Spade must prove his innocence against murder accusations while searching for the titular falcon statue. Inspired in part by author Dashiell Hammett’s experiences as a detective, the story has been lauded for both its complex characterizations and thrilling plot twists.

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

Mystery was no longer a purely adult genre in 1930, thanks to the release of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories that year. The first of these, The Secret of the Old Clock, features a 16-year-old Nancy Drew helping the Turner family find a missing will that will allow them to inherit a relative’s estate. Three more Nancy Drew novels would be released before the year was over. These three, and another twenty installments in the franchise, were written by Mildred Wirt Benson under the Carolyn Keene pen name.

Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud

Civilization and Its Discontents is considered to be one of Sigmund Freud’s most important works, focusing on the relationship between individuals and the societies they live in. Originally titled Das Unbehagen in der Kultur (The Uneasiness in Culture), the book argues that there is a fundamental conflict between an individual’s desire for pleasure and society’s rules. Although Freud is less respected now than he was in the 1930s, Civilization and Its Discontents continues to be a seminal text for modern academics.

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

The Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, was definitely at work in 1930, releasing two books and a short story collection before the year was over. The most significant of these was Murder at the Vicarage, Christie’s 10th novel and the first to feature her beloved spinster character, Miss Marple. Told from the perspective of Reverend Leonard Clement, Murder at the Vicarage follows an investigation into the murder of Colonel Lucius Protheroe through a series of twists, turns, and false confessions.

Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future by Olaf Stapledon

Last and First Men was one of the most expansive future history novels in the science fiction genre, documenting the path of humanity and its descendants across 2 billion years. The story poses as a historical text, showcasing mankind’s golden age and the catastrophic failures that preceded and succeeded it. While it has been criticized for its overly cynical perspective on humanity, Last and First Men inspired many of the greatest speculative fiction writers of the next century.

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

The history of The Little Engine That Could is more complicated than the other stories on this list. Multiple storytellers released versions of the plot throughout the early 1900s, making it hard to identify its original author. The details were finally pinned down in the 1930 version, which would become the definitive edition. Written by Watty Piper and illustrated by Lois Lenski, The Little Engine That Could was a massive success, engraining the phrase “I think I can” into the popular consciousness.

Cimarron by Edna Ferber

The final entry on this list was the best-selling book of 1930, Cimarron. The novel followed the Cravat family, with special attention given to Yancey Cravat’s participation in the 1893 Oklahoma land rush and his wife Sabra’s attempts to force her idea of civilization on the emerging town. The book was incredibly popular in its own time, getting a film adaptation the very next year. However, it failed to maintain as much popularity as other books mentioned on this list, due in part to its controversial perspective on manifest destiny and western expansion.

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