As I rounded the corner to visit Scotland’s Brodie Castle, the last person I expected to meet was Struwwelpeter.ย Yet mixed among the fine art, antique furniture and centuries of history in this magnificent turreted castle, there he was. ย Staring at me from, appropriately enough, the shelf in the former nursery!
Truth is, until that very moment, I’d never even heard of Struwwelpeter. ย But, with a cover illustration equal parts bewitching and bewildering, I was desperate to learn more and made a mental note of the book’s title as interior photography was not allowed. ย Immediately upon my return to Edinburgh later that week, I scoured every secondhand bookstore in town until I finally unearthed this beautiful 1940 hardback edition.…