The recent publication of my new “Louise Brooks edition” of The Diary of a Lost Girl has led some to enquire about the once controversial book’s little known author. Fans ask, “who was Margarete Böhme?”
Böhme (1867 - 1939) was, arguably, one of the most widely read German writers of the early 20th century. She authored 40 novels – as well as short stories, autobiographical sketches, and articles. Today, however, she is little known – even in her native Germany.
The Diary of a Lost Girl, first published in 1905 as Tagebuch einer Verlorenen, is her best known and bestselling book. It was translated into 14 languages, and inspired a sequel, a play, a parody, controversy, lawsuits, two silent films, and a score of imitators. By the end of the Twenties, the book had sold more than one million two hundred thousand copies, ranking it among the bestselling books of its time. One contemporary scholar has called it “Perhaps the most notorious and certainly the commercially most successful autobiographical narrative of the early twentieth century.”
Böhme began writing early. At age 17, she published her first story, “The Secret of the Rose Passage,” in a German newspaper. She then went on to place her work in weekly magazines, both under her own name and under a pseudonym. Some of her early novels were serialized in periodicals, while others were issued in book form by various German publishers. At first, Böhme wrote what would today be termed popular fiction – but as her work matured, she turned to more serious themes.
Beginning in 1903, Böhme wrote six novels in the span of two years. Few of them, however, met with much success. With the publication of Tagebuch einer Verlorenen in 1905, the author’s fortunes changed. The book was an overnight success, and Böhme’s reputation was secured. Her succeeding books were met with serious consideration, translated into other languages, and widely reviewed. At the time, Böhme's work was favorably compared to that of the French writer Émile Zola. An American literary review, described Böhme as “One of the leading novelists of the younger realistic school in Germany.”
Dida Ibsens Geschichte (The History of Dida Ibsen), from 1907, is a kind of sequel to The Diary of a Lost Girl. As Böhme states in the forward, the book was written in response to a flood of letters she received regarding her earlier book. People from all walks of life had written to the author. Some wrote to say they had cried over the book. Others, wanting to pay their respects, even enquired as to whereabouts Thymian’s grave.
Critics consider W.A.G.M.U.S., the story of a department store, to be Bohme’s best work. This 1911 novel chronicles the growth of a colossal business which crushes its smaller competitors by systematically underselling them. The book touches on emerging modern business methods, the treatment of employees, and issues around commerce and consumerism. Shoplifters, then a new phenomenon, also come into the story. W.A.G.M.U.S. was published in America, where one leading review called it “a distinctly remarkable book.”
Böhme was a progressive minded author, and most of her later work was concerned with the social conditions and everyday lives of women. Much of her later fiction also has a strong social message. For example, Christine Immersen, from 1913, concerns the harsh working conditions faced by women telephone operators (then also just coming onto the scene).
Despite her considerable European reputation, only two of Böhme’s books would find their way into English. They are Tagebuch einer Verlorenen as The Diary of a Lost One in 1907, and W.A.G.M.U.S. as The Department Store in 1912. Each was first issued in Great Britain and then the United States. They were, in all likelihood, also distributed around the English-speaking world. In 1909, a newspaper in New Zealand referred to The Diary of a Lost One as “The saddest of modern books.”
Böhme continued to publish throughout the Teens and Twenties. In 1933, Tagebuch einer Verlorenen, still considered a controversial book, was again the subject of attack. An attempt was made in the early days of the Nazi-era to ban Böhme’s book. It was deemed trash, and its author considered suspect (and possibly even Jewish). Though an official decree was never issued, Tagebuch einer Verlorenen was successfully driven from print more than a quarter-century after it was first published.
By 1937, Böhme’s name no longer appeared in annuals devoted to German literature. With a changing century and the cultural chaos preceding the coming World War, Böhme’s books fell out of print and faded from view. The author died on May 23, 1939 at the age of 72. Like her famous heroine and the book which tells her tragic tale – Böhme became an author lost to history.
More info: There is little in English about Margarete Böhme. I will be discussing the author and her best known book at the San Francisco Public Library on November 14th. My talk will be followed by a screening of the 1929 Louise Brooks film. The Louise Brooks edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl is available through Lulu.com as well as amazon.com and select independent bookstores.
Thomas Gladysz is a longtime fan of Louise Brooks, so much so that in 1995 he founded the Louise Brooks Society, an internet-based archive and fan club devoted to the silent film star. Gladysz has contributed to books on the actress, organized exhibits, appeared on television, and introduced her films around the country.
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