Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

"The Great American Novel"-- Edith Wharton Set during the Roaring Twenties, this witty social satire of the Jazz Age was a runaway best seller 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. Supposedly inspired by literary critic H. L. Mencken's flirtation with a blonde actress, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes originally was written by Hollywood silent-era screenwriter Anita Loos as a series of short pieces 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 Monroe sang "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend."