The Artificial Silk Girl

The Artificial Silk Girl
AuthorIrmgard Keun
GenresFiction, Historical Fiction
Publication date
1932
Publication placeGermany
ISBN1-892-74681-6

The Artificial Silk Girl is a novel by Irmgard Keun, published in Berlin in 1932. The protagonist Doris writes about how she struggles to survive, first in her hometown and then in pre-war Berlin.

The Artificial Silk Girl was a huge bestseller in Weimar Germany, until the Nazis banned it in 1933 and destroyed all existing copies. It is Keun's best known book in contemporary Germany.

It is referenced in Ali Smith's 2020 novel Summer.