As for the text, we may never know who first translated the book into English as that information has never been released — as far as we’re aware — however, we do know that the translation was commissioned in England, likely by The Readers Library Publishing Company Ltd., so the original was rife with British spellings, which we have jettisoned in favor of their American counterparts.

Additionally, we have modernized several hyphened words so they’re a bit easier to read: to-night is now tonight, good-bye has become goodbye, and so on.

We’ve also appended 130+ footnotes to enhance your reading of the text, and to provide clarity, context, and commentary where necessary.

“Metropolis is unlike any other novel yet written. The impression it leaves is of a work of genius, distinctly unique and original.” —The Readers’ Library

“Behind the weird story of the great Armageddon between mankind and monsters . . . is the romance of a young woman who conceived the nightmare plot in a dream and was impelled by some strange force over which she had no control to set it down on paper. She is Thea von Harbou . . . ” —The China Mail

“Metropolis somewhat resembles a mixture of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edward Bellamy, with perhaps a touch of Mrs. Shelley’s Frankenstein.” —The Evening Star

“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.” —Michael Joseph, The Bookman

“Thea von Harbou excelled in the one aspect of literary craftsmanship that critics tend to ignore because it is utterly beyond their ability to comprehend: the power of myth-making.” —Gary Westfahl

“Thea von Harbou, its gifted authoress, in her lifetime exhibited a literary mind that leapt ahead of reality . . . the language of the novel is sometimes as thesauric as Shiel, as kaleidoscopic as Merritt, as bone-spare as Bradbury, as poetic as Poe, as macabre as Machen . . . you will have an experience in reading that will last you all the rest of your life.” —Forrest J. Ackerman

“In Metropolis we shall see the author’s prophecy of what Capital and Labor may come to unless they cooperate in mutual sympathy. The story is by Thea von Harbou, the Jules Verne of Germany, and probably the greatest living woman novelist.” —The Nottingham Evening Post

Metropolis