Lulu in Hollywood by Louise Brooks set for first ever e-book edition!

The first ever e-book edition of Lulu in Hollywood by Louise Brooks is set to be released on February 3, 2026 by the University of Minnesota press. The print edition has just recently been re-released with a bold new front and back cover, shown below. (I have seen the back cover, but it hasn't yet been made public.)

I am pleased to report that both the e-book edition of Lulu in Hollywood and its re-release as a print edition has come about through behind-the-scenes efforts of Thomas Gladysz and the Louise Brooks Society.

The book description on amazon.com, as of now, reads:

"Essential writings by this icon of the silent era―rereleased in print and now available as an e-book 100 years after Louise Brooks arrived in Hollywood. 

Lulu in Hollywood is an intimate collection of eight autobiographical essays by Louise Brooks, silent film darling and icon of the flapper era. Ranging from her childhood in Kansas and her early days as a Denishawn and Ziegfeld Follies dancer to her friendships with Martha Graham, Charles Chaplin, W. C. Fields, Humphrey Bogart, William Paley, G. W. Pabst, and others, Brooks’s writing offers a rare glimpse into her extraordinary life. Including her revelatory “Why I Will Never Write My Memoirs,” Lulu in Hollywood also features Kenneth Tynan’s 1979 essay “The Girl in the Black Helmet,” which revived interest in Brooks’s work and was the best discussion of her film work to appear in her lifetime."

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The publication of Lulu in Hollywood was very important to Louise Brooks. It was her testament to the world. Notably, Brooks’ own copy of the book was on her night table next to her bed at the time of her death in 1985.  

the 1982 edition

The book sold steadily, but sometime in the mid-to-late 1990s, Lulu in Hollywood fell out-of-print. In the year 2000, aided in part by a grass-roots campaign led by the Louise Brooks Society, Lulu in Hollywood was republished in an expanded edition by the University of Minnesota Press. The copyright page of this new edition reads, “The University of Minnesota press gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Thomas Gladysz, director of the Louise Brooks Society, in the publication of this book.” Happily, for fans everywhere, it has remained in print since, and has now been rereleased and will be issued as an e-book.

The University of Minnesota edition was given a new look, with a redesigned front and back cover. It was also revised. The now eight essays included in this most recent edition are “Kansas to New York,” “On Location with Billy Wellman,” “Marion Davies’ Niece,” “Humphrey and Bogey,” “The Other Face of W. C. Fields,” “Gish and Garbo,” “Pabst and Lulu” and, additionally, “Why I Will Never Write My Memoirs.” The original William Shawn introduction was replaced by Kenneth Tynan’s acclaimed New Yorker profile, “The Girl in the Black Helmet”. Retained in the new edition was the original afterword by Lotte H. Eisner, “A Witness Speaks”, as well as the condensed filmography and the various illustrations.

the 2000 edition

Someday, I hope to get an annotated edition released, but that might have to wait seven years. 

Read and learn more about Lulu in Hollywood on the Louise Brooks Society website. A page about the book can be found HERE. The LBS also hosts a BIBLIOGRAPHY of reviews and articles, as well as a GALLERY page of international editions. 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.