“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” the blockbuster novel by Anita Loos, recently celebrated its 100th birthday. Readers around the world have been enthralled by the story of Lorelei Lee, a tactical beauty with a desire to improve herself romantically, financially and socially, and Lorelei’s bestie and travel buddy, Dorothy Shaw, the everywoman along for the fun. A century ago, young women readers defined themselves as a Lorelei or a Dorothy, just as women would later tag themselves as a Carrie or a Charlotte from “Sex and the City” or a Marnie or a Hannah from “Girls.” The fictional friendship of Lorelei and Dorothy mirrored the author’s real-life relationships; Loos formed lifetime bonds and often traveled with friends, leaving her husband at home. The shame is that most readers today only know “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” but Loos’s oeuvre contains many other gems waiting to be rediscovered.
