{"product_id":"the-extra-woman-how-marjorie-hillis-led-a-generation-of-women-to-live-alone-and-like-it-9781631492730","title":"The Extra Woman: How Marjorie Hillis Led a Generation of Women to Live Alone and Like It","description":"\u003cp\u003eYou've met the extra woman: she's sophisticated, she lives comfortably alone, she pursues her passions unabashedly, and--contrary to society's suspicions--she really is happy. Despite multiple waves of feminist revolution, today's single woman is still mired in judgment or, worse, pity. But for a brief, exclamatory period in the late 1930s, she was all the rage. A delicious cocktail of cultural history and literary biography, \u003cem\u003eThe Extra Woman\u003c\/em\u003e transports us to the turbulent and transformative years between suffrage and the sixties, when, thanks to the glamorous grit of one Marjorie Hillis, single women boldly claimed and enjoyed their independence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarjorie Hillis, pragmatic daughter of a Brooklyn preacher, was poised for reinvention when she moved to the big city to start a life of her own. Gone were the days of the flirty flapper; ladies of Depression-era New York embraced a new icon: the independent working woman. Hillis was already a success at Vogue when she published a radical self-help book in 1936: \u003cem\u003eLive Alone and Like It: A Guide for the Extra Woman\u003c\/em\u003e. With Dorothy Parker-esque wit, she urged spinsters, divorcées, and \"old maids\" to shed derogatory labels and take control of their lives, and her philosophy became a phenomenon. From the importance of a peignoir to the joy of breakfast in bed (alone), Hillis's tips made single life desirable and chic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a style as irresistible as Hillis's own, Joanna Scutts, a leading cultural critic, explores the revolutionary years following the Live-Alone movement, when the status of these \"brazen ladies\" peaked and then collapsed. Other innovative lifestyle gurus set similar trends that celebrated guiltless female independence and pleasure: Dorothy Draper's interior design smash, \u003cem\u003eDecorating Is Fun!\u003c\/em\u003e transformed apartments; Irma Rombauer's warm and welcoming recipe book, \u003cem\u003eThe Joy of Cooking\u003c\/em\u003e, reassured the nervous home chef that she, too, was capable of decadent culinary feats. By painting the wider picture, Scutts reveals just how influential Hillis's career was, spanning decades and numerous best sellers. As she refashioned her message with every life experience, Hillis proved that guts, grace, and perseverance would always be in vogue.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith this vibrant examination of a remarkable life and profound feminist philosophy, Joanna Scutts at last reclaims Marjorie Hillis as the original queen of a maligned sisterhood. Channeling Hillis's charm, \u003cem\u003eThe Extra Woman\u003c\/em\u003e is both a brilliant exposé of women who forged their independent paths before the domestic backlash of the 1950s trapped them behind picket fences, and an illuminating excursion into the joys of fashion, mixology, decorating, and other manifestations of shameless self-love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Liveright Publishing Corporation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/14\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781631492730\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.06lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.20h x 5.90w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal Prepub Alert\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2017 pg. 59\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/11\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2017 pg. 5\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Joanna Scutts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45234822054069,"sku":"9781631492730","price":23.76,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_2291539d-453e-49c3-87f6-8df708d8f1ed.jpg?v=1743518939","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-extra-woman-how-marjorie-hillis-led-a-generation-of-women-to-live-alone-and-like-it-9781631492730","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}