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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925)

by Anita Loos

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
9723621,286 (3.61)109
Named one of the 100 Best Novels Ever Written in English (The Guardian) 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.… (more)
  1. 00
    After Claude by Iris Owens (Imprinted)
  2. 00
    Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico (generalkala)
  3. 00
    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (acceptance)
    acceptance: Two short novels of the Jazz age, published in the same year. Fun to compare the two.
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» See also 109 mentions

English (36)  Danish (1)  All languages (37)
Showing 1-5 of 36 (next | show all)
Review of the audiobook edition:
This Audible edition starts with an introduction and a preface (I guess) which are labelled as Chapters 1 and 2. If, like me, you prefer to skip introductions, then start with Chapter 3!

Patrice O'Neill's voice was excellent for this novel; a bit reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe in the film version but not overly so. ( )
  leslie.98 | Jun 27, 2023 |
When I came across this book, I was compelled to own it; I love Folio Society editions and the movie is one of my favorites (mostly for the fashion and music). I was not disappointed but its quite different from the movie plot. The humour is clearly era-dependent and modern readers need to adapt the right mindset to enjoy this (and most reviewers obvs haven't sadly). ( )
  fionaanne | Nov 28, 2022 |
I'm torn between 2 and 3 stars. The voice is on point and the story humorous... if it wasn't for the age-old dumb girl trope. ( )
  OutOfTheBestBooks | Sep 24, 2021 |
The satire here is so blunt and heavy it's absolutely numbing. Lorelei's misspellings, malapropisms and imbecilic intonation are completely OTT, making the book a tiring experience despite its brevity. Starting every single sentence with "so," or "I mean," for 200+ pages is actually an interesting experiment in punishment prose: I could only manage 20 or so pages at a time before tapping out. Our heroine's stay in England, where everyone is desperate to raise cash by flogging her their ancestral tat, is kinda funny. But the mockery of the French (lecherous and unhygienic) and Germans (sausage- and beer-guzzlers) falls lamentably flat. Satire demands restraint: Lorelei visiting "a gallery full of Kunst" is funny. Retreading the joke twenty times in 10 pages, not so much. As Froyd might say of this overrated flapper parody — cloche, but no cigar. Actually who am I kidding, he probably loved it like everybody else. ( )
  yarb | Jul 20, 2021 |
Anita Loos sank her literary fingernails into women who are vapid gold diggers by writing this novella from the point of view of a ditzy blonde, Lorelei Lee. She seems ditzy, that is, but her actions show she’s pretty smart about extracting money and jewels out of the men who come across her path. The book thus satirizes men as well, as even through the lens of Lorelei, we see that they have just one thing on their minds, even the 90 year old father of one of the men she’s seeing. It also gets a few jabs in at the movie world, which is interesting given her work at such an early age in the nascent industry. Edith Wharton called this “the greatest novel since Manon Lescaut,” and in 1925 the sharpness of its satire was probably particularly pointed and original. For me, reading the words of such an airhead grew tiring even with the book’s short length, though it finishes strong and has some funny moments. The comments she relays of her friend Dorothy in particular stand out, and reading the book evokes Jane Russell’s version of her in the 1953 film adaptation. ( )
4 vote gbill | May 2, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 36 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Loos, Anitaprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
ffolkesIllustratormain authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vickers, HugoIntroductionmain authorsome editionsconfirmed
Barton, RalphIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bushnell, CandaceIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
McPhee, JennyIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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To John Emerson
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March 16th:
A gentleman friend and I were dining a the Ritz last evening and he said that if I took a pencil and paper and put down all of my thoughts it would make a book. This almost made me smile as what it would really make would be a whole row of encyclopediacs. I mean I seem to be thinking practically all of the time.
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Named one of the 100 Best Novels Ever Written in English (The Guardian) 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.

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W.W. Norton

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