Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady
(1925)[a] is a comic novel written by American author Anita
Loos. The story primarily follows the escapades and dalliances of a young blonde flapper in New York City and Europe. It is one of several
novels exploring the hedonistic Jazz Age published that year that have become famous—including F. Scott Fitzgerald's
The Great Gatsby
and Carl Van Vechten's
Firecrackers.
Originally published as a series of short sketches known as "the Lorelei stories" in "Harper's Bazaar" magazine, the work was published in
book form by Boni & Liveright in 1925. Although dismissed by critics as "too light in texture to be very enduring," Loos' book was a runaway
best seller, becoming the second-best selling title of 1926, and printed throughout the world in over thirteen different languages, including
Chinese. By the time of Loos' death in 1981, the work had been printed in over 85 editions and had been adapted into a popular comic strip, a
1926 silent comedy, a 1949 Broadway musical, and a 1953 film adaptation of the latter musical. The book earned the praise of many writers
including Edith Wharton who dubbed it "the great American novel."