Ladies Must Live

by Alice Duer Miller

Mrs. Ussher was having a small house party in the country over New Year's Day. This is equivalent to saying that the half dozen most fashionable people in New York were out of town. Certain human beings are admitted to have a genius for discrimination in such matters as objects of art, pigs or stocks. Mrs. Ussher had this same instinct in regard to fashion, especially where fashions in people were concerned. She turned toward hidden social availability very much as the douser's hazel wand turns toward the hidden spring. When she crossed the room to speak to some woman after dinner, whatever that woman's social position might formerly have been, you could be sure that at present she was on the upward wing.

Genres: Fiction

140 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1917

About the author

Alice Duer Miller (July 28, 1874 – August 22, 1942) was an American writer whose poetry actively influenced political opinion. Her feminist verses impacted on the suffrage issue, while her verse-play The White Cliffs encouraged US entry into World War II. She also wrote novels and screenplays.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021 reread: Still fresh and enjoyable on a second read. Definitely ordering my own copy.

2017: What a clever little tale! I’ve been meaning to try Alice Duer Miller’s writing for several years now, and when my GR friend Madelyn start dishing out stars by the plenty for her works, I decided to try her sooner rather than later. I’m glad I did. This was a fun story of high society in the early 1900s, where expectation meets idealism between two strong souls. From the beginning it’s pretty plain that neither of them can actually expect a happy ending, but even a good one might be too much to ask...right? Very unusual tale with plenty of little twists to keep it interesting.

Content: a few swears

[Madelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Duer Miller continues to amaze me.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the setting and time frame of this book--I always love a peek into high society life of the early twentieth century--but I struggled a bit with the characters. I suppose the author was trying to make a point about the shifts women were forced into when it came to marriage back in the day, but I must say I found it hard to sympathize with the heroine as she manipulated her poor hapless victim. I didn't much sympathize with the victim either, since he walked wide-eyed into every trap she set for him. It turned out all right in the end, but it was occasionally a struggle to stick with it. Fortunately, the writing was charming and had a sly humor to it that was quite entertaining.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, amusing little tale about an honest rich man from the West coming to New York and getting involved with high society folk, in particular a beautiful, mercenary woman who is out to trap him into matrimony. Although it is was fairly entertaining I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as the author’s previous book ‘Come Out of the Kitchen’ which is a delightful story with much more appealing characters than this one.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rocklicking Fun.

🖊 Taking place in turn-of-the-century New York, Ladies Must Live is a happy and amusing story of New York high society, wherein two strong people have the hope of blending idealism and expectations. I greatly enjoyed the cleverly woven story and the smooth writing style of Alice Duer Miller. The dénouement was hopeful and positive.

📕Published in 1917.
🎨 Illustrated.

🎥 1940 movie version with Wayne Morris, Rosemary Lane, George Reeves, William Hopper.
⬛️ 1928 stage play version called “The Home Towners” by George M. Cohan.

From My Desk in My Private Library at Crystal Lake:
જ⁀🟢 E-book version on Project Gutenburg.
જ⁀🟣 Kindle.
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✧⋆Excerpts of note:

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🔺 Every afternoon he would take the new machines out and fly at sunset over the sandy plains of Long Island, would dine cheaply at some neighboring restaurant, and would return to his flat about ten, go to bed early and be ready for work the next morning.

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🔻"Is there a telephone in the house?" he asked. She shook her head. "No, it's disconnected when we leave in the autumn.”

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🔺 The wind cut their faces, the horse pulled and pranced, the gaiety had gone out of their little expedition. They drove on a mile or so, and then Riatt stopped the horse.