A new non-centrosymmetric monoclinic modification of 9,10-di­hydro­anthracene-9,10-α,β-succinic acid anhydride (sys­tem­atic name: 5,6:7,8-dibenzobi­cyclo­[2.2.2]­octa-5,7-diene-2,3-di­carboxyl­ic acid anhydride), C18H12O3, was obtained by reacting maleic anhydride and anthracene in xyl­ene, followed by recrystallization from ethyl acetate. The structure consists of chains of mol­ecules along the c axis and is held together solely through van der Waals interactions.