Lilly and Her Slave

Previously unpublished stories by the bestselling author of Alone in Berlin.


In September 1925 Hans Fallada handed himself in to the police. Not yet a bestselling author, Fallada had repeatedly embezzled funds to finance his alcohol and morphine addictions. Desperate to escape his demons, he sought a prison cell.

Now court documents from Fallada's imprisonment have recently been rediscovered, and with them a never-before seen story collection. Peopled by complex characters at odds with society, Fallada's stories tackle hitherto taboo topics such as rape and abortion, and explore the lives of women and male outsiders.

These stories reveal to a new generation of readers Fallada's immense gifts and his intense inner battles.



'Fallada is extraordinary ... These stories of love and hate, sadism and masochism, are compelling in isolation. But what makes them remarkable is that they prefigure his final works.'
-Geordie Williamson, The Saturday Paper

'A precious treat for Fallada fans: Lilly and Her Slave tells a MeToo story from 1920s Berlin.'
-Marc Reichwein, Literarische Welt

'These tales from the estate of Hans Fallada are a gem for fans, as are the circumstances of their discovery.'
-Welt am Sonntag