The 1929 Louise Brooks film, Diary of a Lost Girl, is based on a controversial and bestselling book first published in Germany in 1905. Though little known today, the book was a literary sensation at the beginning of the 20th century. Spirited debate and lawsuits followed its publication. By the end of the Twenties, it had sold more than 1,200,000 copies - ranking it among the bestselling books of its time.