"ideal scene" with a woman in the 1922 edition was not conventionally progressive: Mencken often espoused views of politics, religion, and metaphysics that stressed their grotesqueness and absurdity; in this context, escape from the supposed fraud of such somber subjects was welcome to him. Critical reviews The book was reviewed very well: according to Carl Bode, there were four times as many favorable reviews as unfavorable. The first edition of the book sold fewer than 900 copies, a disappointing showing. The second edition sold much better, during the more progressive Roaring Twenties. References Bode, Carl. Mencken. Southern Illinois University Press, London, 1969. Hobson, Fred. Mencken. Random House, New York, 1994. Manchester, William. Disturber of the Peace. University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 1986. External links Project Gutenberg e-text of In Defense of Women 1918 non-fiction books Alfred A. Knopf books Books by H. L. Mencken