But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes: 2the Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady

Famous for her wildly popular book, "Gentlemen Prefer Blonds", Anita Loos wrote this as its sequel. Loos was a scriptwriter for D. W. Griffith before she was twenty; she knew Hollywood and Manhattan from the inside out. This novelette is written from the point of view of the eternal blonde, Lorelei Lee (made famous on stage by Carol Channing and in the movies by Marilyn Monroe). She may seem dizzy but Lorelei possesses a keen wit and 24-carat insights. The story is filled not only with 1920s slang and witticisms but also with memorable zingers, such as: "When gentlemen from Kansas City or St. Louis come to New York and feel themselves becoming unimportant, they can always make themselves very important by spending quite a lot of money..." (Page 12) . In what is really a longish short story, told in rapid-fire conversational colloquialisms, narrator Lee tells the improbably droll story of her best friend and sidekick, Dorothy Shaw, especially her rise from the daughter of a circus performer to become the darling of New York. Along the way Loos takes huge satirical swipes at the famous writers, critics and wits of New York's Algonquin Hotel Round Table, and their various hangers-on, sometimes dubbed The Vicious Circle. She pokes fun at their insularity as well as their obsession with "sharades" and practical jokes. Loos also parodies the penchant for frivolous flappers to marry unwitting millionaires, in Dorothy's various suitors. All comes out splendidly in the end, just as the title suggests. As Lorelei says, "And if I do get Dorothy into the Social Register, I shall really have to begin to believe that the world is quite a good place to live in, even in the case of a girl like Dorothy." (page 97). Loos has a wonderful way with vivacious and flippant words (intentionally misspelled for effect) and this paean to the times helped make the Twenties roar. Pick up this little gem and be prepared to have some fun.