The Southern Belle's Handbook: Sissy LeBlanc's Rules to Live By

by Loraine Despres

Learn how to navigate life with the effortless savior faire of a true daughter of the South with The Southern Belle's Handbook . Sissy LeBlanc's rules to live by will teach you how to hook, hold on to, and handle any man as well as conquer any personal situation with the poise and confidence of a sophisticated southern stunner. And because every woman possesses her own sassy instincts, you can also record your own rules for unstoppable fabulousness and success.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Chick Lit

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Loraine Despres is a best-selling novelist and screenwriter. Her first novel, the rollicking Southern love story, The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc, was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Pick, a Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club featured selection. It became a national best-seller and is now in its 25th printing. It begins: “When you get to be a certain age, you realize that the only thing you have time for is doing exactly what you want.”
It engendered The Southern Belle’s Handbook, Sissy Leblanc’s Rules to Live By, which includes all Sissy’s rules such as, “It’s okay for a woman to know her place, she just shouldn’t stay there.”
Her next novel, The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell, about intolerance and love, is set in 1920, when prohibition was in full swing, women were clamoring for the vote, and the Ku Klux Klan was sweeping the country as a money-making pyramid scheme. It begins: “Belle Cantrell felt guilty about killing her husband, and she hated that. Feeling guilty, that is.” It was the main book selection for all the chapters of the Pulpwood Queens, the largest book club in America with over 280 chapters.
During her screenwriting days, Loraine wrote many screenplays, pilots, and MOWS. Her produced episodes include those for The Highlander, The Equalizer, Crime Story, Chips, Family, Knots Landing, Dynasty, The Walton’s, and Love Boat, but she is best remembered for writing that cultural icon the “Who Shot J.R.?” episode of Dallas.
She taught screenwriting at UCLA for seven years and worked as an International Screenwriting Consultant in Germany, Sweden, Spain, and Canada. Loraine served on the Boards of Directors of PEN USA and Women In Film. She can be reached through her website www.LoraineDespres.com.

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are a weak woman whose one goal in life is to get a man and devote yourself to HIS happiness, this book is for you. I, however, am nothing like that. I read this hoping for fun Southern anecdotes and charming habits that we have, not a constant rewording of "different ways to make a man love you and stay with you". It was nauseating.

[Loraine Despres · Rating 5 out of 5]

People kept telling me how much they liked Sissy's Southern Belle's Handbook and some were even making a list of the rules. They must have been telling HarperCollins the same thing, because they decided to bring out this special little gift book of just fun rules. I found people giving it away at bridal showers and as hostess gifts at luncheons, but my favorite was when a friend of mine who has an apartment in Paris and many European friends asked me to autograph about 20 copies because her European friends would get a kick out of it and the little book would be easy for them to read.

[Lynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I rarely "pan" a book but this one is "out there", and I've lived in the South. Unless read as a parody, the book is like a "how to catch your man" book of the fifties. Read as a parody, it is hilarious.

[Amara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this last year, and never reviewed it. I adore Loraine Despres, and Sissy. This book sits on my guest bathroom shelf for err....library reading whilst..er....occupied. My husband decided to use the guest bathroom the other day (with the door opened) and suddenly I hear:

"Rule #5: Look at him over your shoulder or through your eyelashes and he'll salivate like a Pavlovian dog. Pat the seat next to you and he'll come bounding across the room. It's usually all right to let him sit on the furniture."

He got so wrapped up in the book, that he decided to read me the whole thing again. From his porcelain throne. So, Ms. Despres, my husband also gives your book 5 stars.

[Lisa Reiter · Rating 1 out of 5]

As they say, you can't judge a book by it's cover. You can't judge this book by it's title, either. I expected it to be funny, light-hearted, a good book to read in between two "heavy" books. I judged wrong. I felt like the story was surprising serious, dark and just dragged on way too long. I was disappointed.

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore these rules! A must read for every girl!

[Channon Coats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rules for life

I thought about three stars, except this was written much earlier in this century, so we make a little adjustment here and there. Eyes, these rules are cute and funny and really can be condensed down to three: be kind in your words and deeds, be charitable in your thoughts and always wear clean classy underwear in case you're in an accident. However. I gotta dock ya, babe for two GLARING AND EGREGIOUS ERRORS

#1. Always keep your lists neat and clean and in numerical order. Lists start with a or 1 in some form, PERIOD.

#1. Always first, ALWAYS. Mind your mama and granmère. What they tell you to do was on Moses' stone from God. Thou shalt have no other gods but God, so get your butt to church every week. AND nobody loves you more in the world than those two angels, so mind your manners and their lessons. They know whereof they speak. (Just ask God but don't blame me when that bush catches your new outfit on fire. I warned you, just now!).

Other than that Sissies did a pretty good job. Using' gs ' at the end of words and ys,' instead of ies' is a bit outrē, but I'm not goin' to be pettie about it, we'll just let it go. Absolutely no HEARTS for os' EVER however.

[Chris Coleman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this book was lacking a lot. I am not the target audience I get that however it felt disjointed and kind of along the lines of "Men are idiots you can mold." Which may or may not be true but it felt more mean than helpful. I did not find it very humous.
That said once again I repeat that I am not the target audience. I am not even sure who that target is.

[Claire Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

Saw this book in a thrift store and just wondered what it would say. It said pretty much what I suspected other than I didn’t expect her to basically say men weren’t capable of controlling themselves if you’d slept with them before.

[CR · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept waiting to get the joke, but apparently there is no joke. Or irony. I can't believe this was published in 2003. If you want to be horrified, give it a go. It's short.

[Megan Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this cute fun little rule book for Southern Belle's, especially since I lived in the south for awhile. Wasn't as funny as I thought it would be though. It is what it is though, don't try to read too much into it. It is meant to be a one sentence liner per page. Although I felt like it was wanting. A cute little quick read to get into in between books for a bit of a break though.

[Tasha enderby · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can't really even count this as a book. It's more of a novelty gift. I got my copy used and it had an inscription written to a womane named Beth and I couldn't help but wonder if the Northern didn't like her gift. I think Sissy is a hoot and having a whole copy of the handbook is fun to send along with the book to my friends in the book club. I hope ehty all read it this summer.

[Ruth Soz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Sissy LeBlanc, so this has been on my radar for a while. I was a bit startled to pick the book up from my local library (I requested it from a different city since mine didn't have it) and find it just about fits in my palm of my hand. I was expecting more substance and was hankering for some more Sissy, but it's still a fun book to pick up.

[Julie Kolb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still quote this book. It is both practical, and a hoot. While we all would like to think equality and power are a recent accomplishment of women, the truth is there have always been rules to live by. The humor is enjoyable, as well as prodding me to consider my own rules I live by.

[Mandi Lucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was really cute and I thought some of the rules were really good

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great gift for Southern Belle's and those who think they are!