Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Set during the Roaring Twenties, this witty social satire of the Jazz Age was a runaway bestseller in 1925. Written in diary form, the story follows the escapades of gold-digging flapper Lorelei Lee and her best friend, Dorothy, from New York to Europe. Inspired by literary critic H. L. Mencken's awestruck reaction to a beautiful blonde woman, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was originally written by Hollywood silent-era screenwriter Anita Loos as a series of short stories in Harper's Bazaar. The book has inspired many adaptations for stage and screen, its most famous being the 1953 film starring Marilyn Monroe, in which she sang "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."