But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes

1927, 1963 Curtis Books edition
Anita Loos
But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes: The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady
"Intimately Illustrated by Ralph Barton"
Original price $1.25, bought used for unknown
Worn paperback
B

This is obviously a sequel, from its clause title to its cover (an exact copy of GPB, except with brown hair instead of yellow).  Even the subtitle is the same as before, although it's not in diary format this time but just rambling chapters.  The chronology in GPB was muddled-- the March dates are screwy and Griffith's Intolerance came out in 1916, more than seven years before '25-- but for the most part it's pretty clear what happened when.  It's next to impossible to figure out where Dorothy's story fits in with Lorelei's, particularly the marriage to Lester.  That aside, it's another bubbly story about misfortune, with a happily-ever ending with the wrong man.  (At least Dorothy sort of loves Charlie, which is more than you can say about Lorelei and Henry.)

Again, a comparison and contrast to Mr. Lewis is in order.  Both Gantry and BGMB mock "Sinclare," as Lorelei spells it.  In this story, he's one of the intellectuals who drink beer in Jersey.  In both novels, the hypocrisy of some pious men is pointed out, particularly how they like to seduce teenaged girls.  (Dorothy gets seduced when and by whom she wants to be, but it's a close call when she's 16 and living with the sheriff.)  One of the girls Gantry seduces is Lulu, and Dorothy meets a prostitute named Lulu.  (It's unclear if this is the same Lulu that was Lorelei's maid in GBP.)  

Both novels feature stereotypical homosexual characters, surprisingly more so in BGMB.  In Gantry, the schoolgirl crushes are mentioned in passing, and the pansies are effeminate but not necessarily gay.  In BGMB, Muriel Devanant definitely and Lorelei's sister-in-law probably are lesbians.  And Dorothy's first husband, after developing a cocaine habit, gets a boyfriend.  Lester's funeral has to be one of the queeniest in fiction.  (Hence the LGBT label, even if it's not sympathetic or central, it does affect the plot.)

A brief trip to Europe also appears in each novel.  Elmer travels in order to seem more sophisticated and to be able to say that the U.S. is superior, which is not unlike Lorelei and Dorothy's reasons for travel in GPB.  Here, Dorothy goes to France with a different friend, and mostly so she can get a Paris divorce.  Marriage definitely isn't sacred in either novel, but since Gantry is a prominent minister, he can't divorce his wife and instead hopes for her eventual death.

Dorothy obviously is a more likable character than Elmer, but I have issues with her always preferring men who treat her like dirt.  (Charlie has to not only quit drinking but start insulting her and ordering her around in order for her to be "intreeged.")  Yes, it's more pleasant than to read of Elmer's relationships, but a smart cookie like Dorothy should have more self-respect.  Still, there's more of a story here than in the earlier Loos novel, so, even though the illustrations sometimes have a cartoonish garishness that Barton didn't show in GPB, I'd put this sequel on about a level with the original.