As I rounded the corner to visit Scotland’s Brodie Castle, the last person I expected to meet was Struwwelpeter. Yet mixed among the fine art, antique furniture and centuries of history in this magnificent turreted castle, there he was. 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. 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. 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.…