Anita Loos

Lorelei Lee, an attractive American diamond-lover of the Roaring Twenties, meets famous personalities and many rich suitors during a trip to Europe

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Lorelei Lee, an attractive gold-digger of the Roaring Twenties, describes her trip to Europe, her many suitors, her brief film career, and the adventures of her best friend, Dorothy

The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady

"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" ; "But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes"

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes

Anita Loos first published the diaries of Lorelei Lee in the flapper days of 1925. Just a little girl from Little Rock, the gold-digging blonde took the world by storm in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, retiring her diary after meeting a traveling American millionaire - but not for long, because, as she tells us in But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, it is bright ideas that keep the home fires burning, and prevent a divorce from taking all of the bloom off Romance.

But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes

A Memoir

The Talmadge Girls

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady (1925) is a novel by Anita Loos. Adapted from a series of stories written for Harper's Bazaar, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was an astounding success for Loos, who had mired for over a decade as a screenwriter in Hollywood and New York. An immediate bestseller, the novel earned praise from leading writers and critics of its time, and has been adapted several times for theater and film. Recognized as a defining text of the Jazz Age, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is an absolute classic dubbed "the great American novel" by Edith Wharton. Lorelei Lee is a young flapper living a life of luxury in Manhattan. A mistress for prominent Chicago businessman Gus Eisman, who pays handsomely, Lorelei has far surpassed her roots as a young woman from Little Rock, Arkansas. Despite her talent as an actress, she finds herself held as an object by wealthy, often married men, whom she uses accordingly. Hers is a life of fine cuisine, opulent jewelry, and tickets to the best shows in town. Soon, however, she grows tired of New York, and sets off on a trip to Europe with her friend Dorothy Shaw. Away from the men who had dragged them down, the two women explore London, Paris, and Vienna, where they find new dopes to dupe with the promise of love. A caricature of the Jazz Age woman, Lorelei Lee reflects the libido and materialism of a generation caught between wars, situated in a time of exponential cultural change, yet wary of disaster's proximity. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Anita Loos' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady

Loos’s classic tale shows that questions of women and power—more relevant today than ever—can come in the most alluring of packages. This delirious 1925 Jazz Age classic introduced readers to Lorelei Lee, the small-town girl from Little Rock, who has become one of the most timeless characters in American fiction. Outrageous and charming, this not-so-dumb blonde has been portrayed on stage and screen by Carol Channing and Marilyn Monroe and has become the archetype of the footloose, good-hearted gold digger (not that she sees herself that way). Masquerading as her diaries, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes follows Lorelei as she entertains suitors across Europe before returning home to marry a millionaire. In this delightfully droll and witty book, Lorelei’s glamorous pragmatism shines, as does Anita Loos’s mastery of irony and dialect. A craze in its day and with ageless appeal, this new Liveright edition puts Lorelei back where she belongs: front and center.

Les hommes préfèrent les blondes

A Girl Like I

Kiss Hollywood Good-by

The story of the lady who wrote over 200 screen plays for Hollywood and other venues, from the early days of the movie industry.

A Girl Like I.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a landmark satirical novel by Anita Loos. In it we follow the diary entries of Lorelei Lee a blond flapper from Little Rock complete with spelling and grammar errors. What follows is a delightful romp as we discover that Lorelei is anything but a dumb blonde. Her observations on life are witty, humorous, cutting, and outrageous. A classic from the Jazz Age, just as relevant today as when it was first published. Join this delightful gold digger with a heart of gold on her adventures and escapades.

John Emerson

How to Write Photoplays

Elmer Bliss, naive and implacably optimistic champion of the Southern Californian way, uses his newspaper column to defend the movie world's indiscretions from the scandal sheets. As Tinseltown parties end in murder, Elmer innocently runs sunny accounts of the stars' wholesome lives. His crowning moment comes as Miss Viola Lake, Hollywood's favorite clean-cut starlet, is about to be accused of drug abuse and sexual promiscuity during a murder trial that threatens to blow the lid off the film colony. With his good intentions at the ready, Elmer leaps, like a matinee idol, to Viola's protection. With intimate ease, Anita Loos sets up a fondly sardonic and devastatingly funny tour of the glorious artifice and excess that is Hollywood: tasteless fashions, bizarre religious sects, mass murder, sex, divorce, extravagant morals, industry nepotism, and vacuous inhabitants -- fresh from the Midwest -- wandering the boulevards in search of fame and fortune.

No Mother to Guide Her

This prepublication typed manuscript of American screen writer and author Anita Loos's (1893-1981) autobiography A Girl Like I (1966) bears typed and handwritten editorial markings. Some of the pencil notations are in Loos's hand.

"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"; the Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady, by Anita Loos, Intimately Illustrated by Ralph Barton

LARGE PRINT EDITION. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady (1925) is a novel by Anita Loos. Adapted from a series of stories written for Harper's Bazaar, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was an astounding success for Loos, who had mired for over a decade as a screenwriter in Hollywood and New York. An immediate bestseller, the novel earned praise from leading writers and critics of its time, and has been adapted several times for theater and film. Recognized as a defining text of the Jazz Age, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is an absolute classic dubbed "the great American novel" by Edith Wharton. Lorelei Lee is a young flapper living a life of luxury in Manhattan. A mistress for prominent Chicago businessman Gus Eisman, who pays handsomely, Lorelei has far surpassed her roots as a young woman from Little Rock, Arkansas. Despite her talent as an actress, she finds herself held as an object by wealthy, often married men, whom she uses accordingly. Hers is a life of fine cuisine, opulent jewelry, and tickets to the best shows in town. Soon, however, she grows tired of New York, and sets off on a trip to Europe with her friend Dorothy Shaw. Away from the men who had dragged them down, the two women explore London, Paris, and Vienna, where they find new dopes to dupe with the promise of love. A caricature of the Jazz Age woman, Lorelei Lee reflects the libido and materialism of a generation caught between wars, situated in a time of exponential cultural change, yet wary of disaster's proximity. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Anita Loos' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Large Print Edition

Lorelei Lee is a highly-strung, ambitious flapper woman with striking wit and a good heart. Follow the dazzling blonde on her gold-digging escapades and numerous romantic flings as she travels the world in the Roaring 20s. First published as a series of sketches, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a comedic novel set in Jazz Age America. Lorelei Lee epitomises the newly-independent woman of the 1920s: wearing tight clothes, keeping her hair short, and smoking in public. The fiery blonde is a charmingly outrageous symbol of femininity. The novel is written in diary format as Lorelai narrates her whirlwind life and her travels from New York City to Paris to London. Anita Loos' book gives remarkable insight into life during the Jazz Age and highlights the Algonquin Round Table writer's trademark wit and humour. This volume features Ralph Barton's original illustrations and would make the perfect read for fans of the 1953 film adaptation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes starring Marilyn Monroe.

Anita Loos

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