Saturday, May 29, 2010

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

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A look back


A look back, featuring Louise Brooks.

Monday, May 24, 2010

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.

Friday, May 21, 2010

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.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

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.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Archives up for sale

As everyone knows, the print industry is on the skids. Newspapers and magazines are in trouble. Many have folded. And some are starting to sell off their assets - namely their archives, in order to raise cash and clean house.

Lately, two of the leading Chicago newspapers have started to sell off their photo archives. (Other newspapers from around the country are doing the same thing.) The two Chicago papers are The Sun-Times and The Tribune. Here is a recent article from the Chicago Reader about the Sun-Times and its sale of its photo archive. The article mentions that some of the images are being sold through eBay.

I have also noticed some Chicago Tribune images for sale on eBay, and elsewhere. Some of these images are vintage, some are contemporary. Some were common publicity phots, others were images taken by local news photographers. Two of the images I noticed were of Louise Brooks. Here is one of them.


Who knows what else will show up? Perhaps something unusual and interesting? Louise Brooks spent a little time in Chicago while married to a Chicago resident. She also danced there while a member of the Denishawn Dance Company. I have visited the city and its public library on more than a few occasions researching the actress. It has many connections with Brooks, and a rich history within film history. It was even home to Photoplay magazine.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

LBS mentioned

Hazaa, this Louise Brooks Society blog was mentioned in another blog. The post, titled "A Love Letter to Louise Brooks," can be found at http://feminema.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/love-letter-to-louise-brooks/

Monday, May 17, 2010

Louise Brooks postcard

This nice old postcard of Louise Brooks is currently for sale on eBay. Check it out. It's a Ross Verlag 4608/1.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

From Jim Tully to Colleen moore

As mentioned in yesterday blog, here is one of my copies of Jim Tully's Beggars of Life, inscribed to actress Colleen Moore. I found it in a used bookstore here in California. The store owner gave me a discount, because it had sat on the shelves for so long. And they were happy to sell.


Tully's inscription to Colleen Moore reads "With the admiration of a Irish rover to a whimsical girl who knew him when." The book is signed, Hollywood, California 1926.
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