“Kissing your hand may make you feel very, very good, but a diamond and sapphire bracelet lasts forever.”

Paired together for the first time on audio, Blackstone and Skyboat Media present Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes.

The Jazz-Age classic Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady was an instant hit when it was first released serially in 1925, and it became the second-best-selling book of 1926 when it was published in its entirety. In her diary, Lorelei Lee, a not-so-dumb blonde from Arkansas, documents her wild adventures to Hollywood, Manhattan, Europe, and back again with her best friend, Dorothy. Along the way, Lorelei and Dorothy are flanked by suitors from all walks of high society, but it might just be the American millionaire who draws her eye.

But just because Lorelei might have found “the one” doesn’t mean the adventures are over! In the sequel, But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, Lorelei takes up her diary once again to tell Dorothy’s tale. Dorothy’s journey takes her from her carnival upbringing all the way to the Ziegfeld Follies. Her talent, gumption, and unique personality bring her fame and eventually love as well, but marriage, she learns, is not everything she dreamt it would be …

Lorelei Lee’s punchy, distinctive way with words and her droll yet frank outlook on life are the reason Edith Wharton called Gentleman Prefer Blondes “the great American novel (at last!),” and the novel’s legacy has only grown since. Played by Marilyn Monroe and Carol Channing, this archetypal gold-digger’s story has solidified Anita Loos as one of the great American novelists and screenwriters.

This compilation also features the forgotten short story “Why Girls Go South.” Originally published in Harper’s Bazaar in 1926, “Why Girls Go South” is the outrageously droll tale of Judy Revell, a promiscuous, modern, and surprisingly resilient New York debutante who travels to Florida to pursue a career in the Arts, much to her family’s amusement and, in some cases, chagrin.

Full Contents:

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes

“Why Girls Go South”