Piracy and The Diary of a Lost Girl

Today, the pirating of movies, music, and even books is a major concern. But back in the early years of the 20th century, when Margarete Böhme wrote the book which became the 1929 Louise Brooks film, Diary of a Lost Girl, piracy was also a problem.

Böhme's book was a huge bestseller in Germany - a phenomenon really. It sold more than 100,000 copies in less than two years. It was so popular that it was translated into 14 languages and was published across Europe - from England and France to Hungary and Russia. There was such demand for the book that there were even pirated editions in at least two countries, The Netherlands and Poland.

In The Netherlands, the book was retitled and published as Thymian, the name of the "lost girl" and the character played by Louise Brooks. This unauthorized translation was issued by Albert de Lange, an otherwise reputable publisher. From what I was able to find out, the translation was by the noted poet Hillegonda van Uildriks, alias Gonne Loman-van Uildriks (1863-1921). Now remembered as a translator, Uildriks was the first to translate Jane Austen into Dutch. (She also translated Robert Louis Stevenson and H.G. Wells, among others.)

Böhme's book was published in Dutch as Thymian, with the subtitle "From the life of a fallen woman." The cover pictured above is unusual in its visual representation of the book's heroine. (Image courtesy of Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren.)

Böhme's book was also published in Poland in both authorized and unauthorized editions. I was able to uncover an interesting advertisement for the authorized translation which references the pirated version.

The book was issued in Poland under the title Pamiętnik Kobiety Upadłej. This 1906 advertisement notes “Every mature man or women should read this book.” Also, it warns against the unauthorized edition, and notes that the book is available in all bookshops. The authorized Polish edition was translated by Felicya Nossig, who would later translate Selma Lagerlöf, Josef Conrad, and other writers of note. Nossig is noted in the advertisement. (For those keeping track, the unauthorized translation was titled Pamiętnik Uwiedzionej.)

If any readers of this blog have any early editions of Böhme's book in any language other than German, I would appreciate hearing from you. The information in this post comes from my introduction to the new "Louise Brooks edition" to The Diary of a Lost Girl. More info about the book can be found here.  Buy a copy or check out sample pages and more at Lulu.com

Free shpping on Diary of a Lost Girl

The aptly named Lulu.com has a special offer going on copies of The Diary of a Lost Girl, which I have just republished in a new, illustrated, "Louise Brooks edition." The book looks great.

Lulu.com is offering free shipping during the summer.

As fans of Louise Brooks are  aware, the 1929 silent film, Diary of a Lost Girl, was based on a best-selling book by Margarete Bohme first published in Germany in 1905. Though little known today, the book was a sensation at the beginning of the 20th century. This new edition of the original English language translation brings this important work back into print after more than 100 years.

According to one article I found, Bohme's book was considered so scandalous that even Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, would have banned it. That's according to an article in the New York Times, which I cite in my introduction. 

Interestingly, Stoker's good friend, the English writer Hall Caine (to whom Dracula is dedicated under the nickname "Hommy-Beg") had nothing but praise for the book. Caine wrote “It is years since I read anything of the kind that moved me to so much sympathy and admiration.  More reality, more truth, more sincerity, I have rarely met with. . . . I know it to be true because I know the life it depicts. . . . It is difficult for me to believe that a grown man or woman with a straight mind and a clean heart can find anything that is not of good influence in this most moving, most convincing, most poignant story of a great-hearted girl who kept her soul alive amidst all the mire that surrounded her poor body.”

More info about the book can be found here.  Buy a copy or check out sample pages and more at Lulu.com

The Diary of a Lost Girl

I have just edited, written the introduction, and republished the controversial 1905 novel which was the basis for the 1929 Louise Brooks film, Diary of a Lost Girl.

Though little known today, it was a literary sensation at the beginning of the 20th century, was translated into 14 languages, and is considered one of the bestselling books of the time. By the end of the Twenties, The Diary of a Lost Girl had sold more than 1,200,000 copies.

Was it – as many believed – the real-life diary of a young woman forced by circumstance into a life of prostitution? Or a sensational and clever fake, one of the first novels of its kind? This contested book – a work of literary sophistication and unusual historical significance – inspired a sequel, a play, a parody, a score of imitators, and two silent films.

This new edition of the original English language translation brings this important book back into print in the United States after more than 100 years. It includes an introduction detailing the book's remarkable history and relationship to the 1929 silent film. This special "Louise Brooks Edition" also includes rare images and vintage illustrations.

More information at http://www.pandorasbox.com/diary.html /// Buy a copy or check out sample pages & more at Lulu.com

A look back

A look back, featuring Louise Brooks.

Louise Brooks in Welsh language literature

This past weekend I received an interesting email, the kind I love to get. It was about a reference to Louise Brooks in contemporary Welsh language literature. In Y Ddynes Ddirgel (The Mysterious Woman), author Mihangel Morgan compares a character to Louise Brooks. The passage in Welsh reads.

"Roeddwn i'n codi o'm sedd ac yn troi tua'r drws pan welais i hi yn llithro allan. Dim ond cipolwg, mater o eiliad neu ddau. Dim ond ochr ei phen a welswn – ond roeddwn i'n eithaf si r taw hyhi oedd hi. Roedd ei gwallt yn fyr ac yn ddu fel adain brân ac wedi'i dorri'n onglog ac yn gornelog fel gwallt Louise Brooks yn Pandora's Box. Ond ai hi oedd hi? Allwn i ddim bod yn hollol sicr, doeddwn i ddim wedi'i gweld hi ers blynyddoedd. Ac onid oedd hi wedi marw? Roedd hi wedi diflannu, ta beth. Na, allwn i ddim bod yn sicr."

Which reads in English as

"I was getting up from my seat and turning towards the door when I saw her slip out. It was only a glance, just a matter of a second or two. I could only see the side of her head – but I was quite sure that it was her. Her hair was short and as black as the wings of a crow and had been cut in an angular, edged shape like the hair of Louise Brooks in Pandora’s Box. But was it her? I couldn’t be completely sure, I hadn’t seen her for years. And hadn’t she died? She had disappeared, at least. No, I couldn’t be sure."

Y Ddynes Ddirgel, a novel, was published in 2001.

Mihangel Morgan was born in Aberdare in south Wales in 1955. His first novel Dirgel Ddyn (Mysterious Man, 1993) won the National Eisteddfod Prose Medal and marked the beginning of a career as one of Wales' formeost contemporary authors. More about the book and the author can be found here.

Diolch yn fawr (thank you) to Dilwyn (Roberts-Young) for send this information to me. Dilwyn even mentioned he listens to RadioLulu while at work in Wales.

Diary of a Lost Girl to screen in San Francisco

Diary of a Lost Girl, the acclaimed 1929 German silent film starring Louise Brooks, will be the centerpiece of this year’s San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The Festival, which is celebrating its 15th annual event in July, has announced the schedule for its 4-day summer happening held at the historic Castro Theater. Diary has been designated the Founder’s Pick film for the 2010 Festival.

The 116-minute version of Diary which will be screened on July 17 has been mastered from a restoration of the film made by the Cineteca di Bologna with approximately seven minutes of previously censored footage. This 35 mm print is courtesy of KINO International. The film will be accompanied by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. The musical group, known for their accompaniment to silent films, will debut their original score for the Brooks film.

Following this special screening, a book signing will take place at the Castro Theater which should prove of interest to fans of Louise Brooks. Ira M. Resnick, the author of Starstruck: Vintage Movie Posters from Classic Hollywood (Abbeville), will be signing copies of his new coffee table book. It contains, notably, a number of illustrations of posters and lobby cards of Brooks’ films, including a one-of-a-kind poster for Diary of a Lost Girl for which the author once paid $60,000.

Also signing books following Diary of a Lost Girl will be Hollywood screenwriter Samuel Bernstein, whose Lulu: A Novel, has just been published by Walford Press. The subject of this “non-fiction” novel is, of course, Louise Brooks. And as well, there will be a signing for my forthcoming edition of Böhme’s The Diary of a Lost Girl, which is being brought back into print a century after it was first published in English translation in the United States. This new, illustrated edition includes an introduction detailing the history of the book and the films made from it.

More about this special happening at http://www.examiner.com/x-48577-Louise-Brooks-Examiner~y2010m5d21-Louise-Brooks-film-centerpiece-of-2010-Silent-Film-Festival

On Kenneth Tynan & Louise Brooks

There is an interesting article in today's Guardian UK about Kenneth Tynan, the British-born critic and writer whose 1978 New Yorker article about Louise Brooks, "The Girl in the Black Helmet," helped ignite a revival of interest in the actress.

Although best known as a theatre critic, Tynan also wrote widely on film and for the movies. Tynan wrote a number of screenplays including the Ealing Studios' "least Ealing film ever." Michael Billington's article, "Kenneth Tynan off stage: the theatre critic's life in film," looks at the critic's unrealized screenplays (including one for The Lord of the Flies) and collaboration with Roman Polanski.

Billington concludes his article this way:  "But, if Tynan's screen output was small, his writing on film is imperishable. Best of all is his famous New Yorker profile of Louise Brooks, in which he tracks the ageing, reclusive star down to her Rochester, NY hideaway and gets her to relive her memories of making Pandora's Box with Pabst. If Brooks was intrigued by Tynan, he was obviously hypnotised by her. And, in Tynan's scene-by-scene breakdown of Brooks's most famous movie and in his thralldom to this enchantress, you get a perfect marriage of his critical instinct and lifelong star-worship."

Which reminds me, I need to go and find the picture of Tynan dressed in drag as Louise Brooks . . . . complete with a black helmet.