Her approach to single life was pragmatic, not moralistic. The book’s author, Marjorie Hillis, was a Vogue editor and the daughter of a minister, but by the time she was in her 40s, she was preaching a gospel of breakfast in bed, a well-fitted suit, and a perfectly mixed Manhattan. Instead of "extra women," surplus to society’s requirements, they could reinvent themselves as "Live-Aloners," defined by what they did, not what they lacked. The book offered "old maids" and "spinsters" an enviable new identity. In the depths of the Great Depression, Live Alone and Like It: A Guide for the Extra Woman celebrated women’s pleasure and glorified their independence. In the summer of 1936, a short, snappy, and stealthily radical self-help book for single women became a surprise bestseller.
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