Razor-sharp satire in a fluffy, fast read, Gentlemen Prefer Blondsis the laugh-out-loud diary of Lorelei Lee, the “dumb blond” who charms lords, lawyers, and millionaires into doing exactly as she pleases.
A flapper who knows the value of a good diamond, Lorelei Lee is enjoying New York City until a writer proposes marriage. alarmed, Lorelei’s good friend Gusthe Button King of Chicagoarranges for Lorelei and her wise-cracking friend Dorothy to travel to Europe: a Grand Tour that involves the Moulin Rouge, penny-pinching duchesses, a meeting with Dr. Freud, and a bevy of incredibly helpful men. Along the way, Anita Loos ridicules censorship, the U.S. government, Hollywood, racism, psychoanalysis, and male gullibility.
When it was first published in 1925, Edith Wharton hailed Gentlemen Prefer Blondesas “the Great American Novel” and called Anita Loos a genius. James Joyce, whose eyesight was failing and whose reading time was increasingly precious, spent three days “reclining on a sofa and reading Gentlemen Prefer Blonds.” And William Faulkner wrote to Loos to compliment her: “Please accept my envious congratulations.”
This edition includes the 1927 sequel, But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes.