Live Alone and Like It

Hardcover, 160 pages

English language

Published Sept. 1, 2005 by Virago Press, Limited.

ISBN:: 978-1-84408-125-7

No rating (1 review)

"Whether you view your one-woman menage as Doom or Adventure, you need a plan, if you are going to make the best of it."Thus begins Marjorie Hillis' archly funny, gently prescriptive manifesto for single women. Though it was 1936 when the Vogue editor first shared her wisdom with her fellow singletons, the tome has been passed lovingly through the generations, and is even more apt today than when it was first published. Hillis, a true bon vivant, was sick and tired of hearing single women carping about their living arrangements and lonely lives; this book is her invaluable wake-up call for single women to take control and enjoy their circumstances. Hillis takes readers through the fundamentals of living alone, including the importance of creating a hospitable environment at home, cultivating hobbies that keep her there ("for no woman can accept an invitation every night without coming to grief"), the question …

"Whether you view your one-woman menage as Doom or Adventure, you need a plan, if you are going to make the best of it."Thus begins Marjorie Hillis' archly funny, gently prescriptive manifesto for single women. Though it was 1936 when the Vogue editor first shared her wisdom with her fellow singletons, the tome has been passed lovingly through the generations, and is even more apt today than when it was first published. Hillis, a true bon vivant, was sick and tired of hearing single women carping about their living arrangements and lonely lives; this book is her invaluable wake-up call for single women to take control and enjoy their circumstances. Hillis takes readers through the fundamentals of living alone, including the importance of creating a hospitable environment at home, cultivating hobbies that keep her there ("for no woman can accept an invitation every night without coming to grief"), the question of whether single ladies may entertain men at home (the answer may surprise you!), and many more.With engaging chapter titles like "A Lady and Her Liquor" and "The Pleasures of a Single Bed," along with a new preface by author Laurie Graff (You Have to Kiss A Lot of Frogs), LIVE ALONE AND LIKE IT is sure to appeal to live-aloners and many other readers alike.

3 editions

the_lirazel reviewed Live Alone and Like It by Marjorie Hillis

Review of 'Live Alone and Like It' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

I read a first edition (owned by a spinster artist) and I am truly shocked to discover that it's been reprinted. Aside from some really "yikes" lines and the kind of heteronormativity/ableism/etc. you'd expect, it holds up surprisingly well? I'm tickled that the chapter on which alcoholic beverages to buy and serve is more in-depth than the money matters chapter. Worth reading for the extremely 1930s-working-girl of it all. Katharine Hepburn and Jean Arthur wouldn't need this book, but a Margaret Sullavan or Ginger Rogers character would probably have had it on her bedside table.

Subjects

Humour
Psychology
Psychology Of Adulthood
History: World
General
Personal & Practical Guides
Self-Help / Happiness
Social Science / Women's Studies
History - General History
Developmental - General
Personal Growth - Happiness
Life skills guides
Single women