New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1912. First edition. Original red publisher's cloth binding with bright gilt and a bit of sunning to the spine. Internally clean and unmarked with the exception of an early ownership signature to front pastedown. Retaining the two page publisher's adverts at rear featuring "New Books Primarily for Women." First appearance in book form, following the four-part serial in The Saturday Evening Post (The Bittner Stories). Scarce on the market, Monroe's semi-autobiographical novel was one of several that gave young women a role model who could inspire their own career ambitions.

Anne Shannon Monroe enjoyed a successful career in advertising as well as publishing. The author of magazine fiction and non-fiction, she became most popular for writing self-help pieces in Good Housekeeping. The present novel, dedicated to her mother and written in the first-person, draws on Monroe's experiences; the result is a lively and interesting depiction of an independent-minded young woman's rise through the professional ranks. From the book's opening, there is no mistaking that Miss Gale represents a new and outspoken generation of women. "I was downright tired of being poor. I was equally tired of hearing my past-generation relatives complacently remark: 'No one of our blood was ever in business.'" Casting off old-fashioned notions of class and gender, she decides she will take on office work; under the guidance of Miss Krog and the office owner Mr. Bittner, she overcomes challenges, grows in ambition, moves through the ranks of her Chicago book-publishing company, and ultimately moves toward opening her own advertising firm. Near Fine (Item #5504)