The 1929 Louise Brooks film, Diary of a Lost Girl, is based on a controversial and bestselling book first published in Germany in 1905. Though little known today, it was a literary sensation at the beginning of the 20th century. It has been out-of-print in the United States for more than a century, and is now hard-to-find.

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. By the end of the Twenties, the book had sold more than 1,200,000 copies.

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 by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society, detailing the book's remarkable history and relationship to the 1929 silent film. This special "Louise Brooks Edition" also includes many rare images and illustrations.