The interpretation of the "Monstretragoedie", the first version of 'Lulu', opens up a completely new perspective on Frank Wedekind's (1864-1918) famous work. Recourse to hitherto undiscovered French sources and an examination of sexual discourse at the time it was written, reveal the long-suppressed text as a radically modern piece of theatre. In comparison with the "Monstretragoedie" the familiar plays "Erdgeist" and "Die Büchse der Pandora" - still misleadingly lumped together as the 'Lulu-Tragödie' and subjected here to consistent philological editorial analysis for the first time as separate entities - stand revealed as mere products of an enforced accomodation to audience tastes and censorship.
