Metropolis (1925 Sci-Fi German Silent film)

Metropolis is a 1925 science fiction novel by the German writer Thea von Harbou. The novel was the basis for and written in tandem with Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis.

Premise
The story is set in a technologically advanced city, which is sustained by the existence of an exploited class of laborers who live underground, far away from the gleaming surface world. Freder, the son of Joh Fredersen, one of the city's founders, falls in love with Maria, a girl from the underground. The two classes begin to clash for lack of a unifying force.

Publication
The novel was serialized in the magazine Illustrates 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, skillfully 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."