The Girl in the Moon is German writer Thea Von Harbou’s 28th book and her third after her science fiction hit, Metropolis, which she adapted into the expressionist masterpiece of silent cinema it became through her collaboration with Fritz Lang, whom she married after divorcing her previous husband in 1920.

Like Metropolis, Die Frau im Mond (1928), was made into a groundbreaking sci-fi film by Harbou and Lang called The Woman in the Moon in 1929. The book and film were among the earliest fictions to depict rocket-based space travel. The book was later translated into English by Baroness von Hutten.

Von Harbou and Lang divorced after she was caught having an affair with an Indian journalist during the period marked by Hitler’s tumultuous rise to power. Lang, who was raised Catholic but was Jewish by descent, fled to Paris during WWII in fear of his life. Von Harbou stayed and made films in support of the Nazis, she later claimed her allegiance was all that protected her Indian husband, but the content of her films could be considered more than sympathetic. 

The Reader’s Library, [1930]. Copyright edition. 17 x 11 x 2.5. 250 pages. In fair condition with chip to spine cloth. Clean internally. Including stills from the photo-play.