The Mayor of Maxwell Street

Avery Cunningham’s debut novel is an epic historical romance and social drama set in Prohibition-era Chicago (1921)—a city blazing with crime, corruption, glamour, and racial tension.

The story follows Nelly Sawyer, the intelligent and ambitious daughter of the wealthiest Black man in America. After the sudden death of her brother, she becomes the center of Chicago’s Black high society, but she secretly leads a double life as an investigative journalist, determined to reveal the hidden struggles of Black Americans under Jim Crow. Her latest investigation leads her to the “Mayor of Maxwell Street,” a powerful underground crime boss.

To uncover the truth, Nelly enlists Jay Shorey, a cunning and charismatic speakeasy manager who rose from the brutal poverty of rural Alabama to become a key player in Chicago’s criminal underworld. Though from vastly different worlds, Nelly and Jay form a risky alliance—one that ignites both danger and desire.

As they navigate class divides, racial injustice, and violent power struggles, Nelly and Jay must decide what they are willing to sacrifice—for justice, freedom, and a forbidden love that defies the boundaries of their time.

Richly atmospheric and emotionally charged, Cunningham’s novel explores love, ambition, and resilience amid the dazzling yet dangerous backdrop of the Roaring Twenties.