I'm hoping that I am in the right forum. Recently I've been having a interest in reading books that are based in the country. Simple life. Could be family drama or life in a small town. I was thinking it would perhaps be set in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s. Anybody have any recommendations?

Have you readLittle Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Depression by Mildred Kalish?   It's not fiction, but quite interesting.

Another good author isSandra Dallas she often sets books in that era.

I loved the book The Cape Ann by Faith Sullivan. It's about a family in a small Minnesota town at the end of the depression.

John Steinbeck comes to mind. If you like mystery, Karen Harper has an Amish mystery series. The first book is Dark Road Home.

Hmmm...got any that have some adult protagonists?

The Miss Read series??  Not sure if that's the kind of thing you're looking for...

How about the Larry McMurtry series that begins with Lonesome Dove?

Eugenia Price is more southern than country, but her books are often family sagas. Some take place is the 1800s though.

Here's a list from a NY library.

You might also want to browse some of the tags at LibraryThing. To get you started, here's:

Historical Fiction

American historical fiction

You may create your own tag mashes by separating the tags you want to mash together by commas in the tag search box: historical fiction, american.

Good luck!

Every Farm Tells A Story by Jerry Apps (or Epps) was a great book, although nonfiction, it read like a story. 

A Can Of Peas;  Dandelions In A Jelly Jar;  Aprons On A Clothesline by Traci DePree (gentle Christian lit about a couple that takes over grandpa's farm when he passes;  set in Southern MN;  Christian lit but not too "preachy";  more modern times-I'd say in the 90s, but still might interest you) 

I also loved the Cazalet Family Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard.  The first in the series is called "The Light Years".  It takes place in England just before WWII (the following books in the series takes place during and just after WWII).  It's about an upper class family that spends its summers at family country place, so the setting changes from country to city...but you still might like to check it out.  The different chapters focus on different family members. 

You might also like "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns, or try "Northern Borders" by Frank Howard Mosher (or Howard Frank Mosher, sorry about my bad memory!).  I enjoyed both of these very much!

<<John Steinbeck comes to mind>>

In this vein, although it is non-fiction, you might enjoy Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley", where Steinbeck and his dog drove around the country (anonymously) in a camper truck and experienced small town America.  One of my personal favorites.

Cheers,

Catt

What about Sandra Dallas' Persian Pickle Club?

I loved Cold Sassy Tree!

Just a reminder----Jessamyn West wrote two books on the subject:  The Friendly Persuasion. and Except for Me and Thee .  The setting was southern Indiana in the Civil War era.