Metropolis (novel)

Metropolis is a 1925 science fiction novel by the German writer Thea von Harbou. The novel was a treatment for Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis, on which von Harbou and Lang collaborated in 1924.

Premise
The story is set in a technologically advanced city, which is sustained by the existence of an exploited class of labourers who live underground, far away from the gleaming surface world. Freder, the son and heir of Joh Fredersen, one of the city's founders, falls in love with Maria, a girl from the underground. Their romance takes place against the growing threat of civil war between the labourers and the armies of the founders, and the question of whether a lasting peace can be found.

Publication
The novel was serialised in the magazine Illustriertes Blatt in 1925, accompanied by screenshots from the upcoming film adaptation. It was published in book form in 1926 by August Scherl. An English translation was published in 1927.

Reception
Michael Joseph of The Bookman wrote about the novel: "It is a remarkable piece of work, skilfully reproducing the atmosphere one has come to associate with the most ambitious German film productions. Suggestive in many respects of the dramatic work of Karel Capek and of the earlier fantastic romances of H. G. Wells, in treatment it is an interesting example of expressionist literature. [...] Metropolis is one of the most powerful novels I have read and one which may capture a large public both in America and England if it does not prove too bewildering to the plain reader."

Film adaptation
The book was written with the intention of being adapted for film by Harbou's husband, the director Fritz Lang. Harbou collaborated with Lang on the script for the film, also titled Metropolis. Shooting began before the novel was published. The film omits certain parts of the book, especially references to the occult (of which a small hint exists in the film). Other parts of the story in the book disappeared from the film after drastic cuts made by the studio and distributors after the film's initial release. Some of these cuts have been rediscovered, while others remain lost. Also missing from the film are explications of the moral motivations for certain actions of the main characters.