''Der Struwwelpeter'' ('Shock-Headed Peter')
is an 1845 German
children's book
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
written and illustrated by
Heinrich Hoffmann. It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Each
cautionary tale
A cautionary tale or moral tale is a tale told in folklore to warn its listener of a Risk, danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is ...
has a clear moral lesson that demonstrates the disastrous consequences of misbehavior in an exaggerated way.
["Hoffman entry"](_blank)
''Lambiek Comiclopedia''. Accessed 29 October 2017. The title of the first story provides the title of the whole book. ''Der Struwwelpeter'' is one of the earliest books for children that combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, and is considered a precursor to
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
s.
''Der Struwwelpeter'' is known for introducing the villainous character of the Tailor (or Scissorman) to Western literature. Some researchers now see the stories in the book as illustrations of modern child
mental disorder
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
s.
Background
Hoffmann wrote the book that would later be titled ''Struwwelpeter'' in reaction to what he perceived as a lack of good books for children. Intending to buy a picture book as a Christmas present for his three-year-old son, Hoffmann instead wrote and illustrated his own book.
At the time of producing it, Hoffmann had no intentions of publishing his book.
Publications
The first appearance of Hoffmann's book outside his immediate family circle was in a meeting organized by Frankfurt literary club Tutti Frutti Society (''Gesellschaft der Tutti-Frutti'') on 18 January 1845. On the evening of that day, , a co-founder of publishing company Literarische Anstalt, bought Hoffmann's book for 80
gulden. Hoffmann later wrote that "
nthat night, at 11 o'clock, I had, almost without knowing what I had done, suddenly become an author of juvenile books."
The book first appeared in the Frankfurt marketplace in October of that year under the title ''Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder mit 15 schön kolorierten Tafeln für Kinder von 3–6 Jahren'' ("funny stories and droll pictures with 15 beautifully coloured panels for children of 3–6 years"). The first version had its illustrations printed with
lithographic plates and colored by hand with
stencils, the text was printed using
typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other ...
. On 3 October, the book was advertised in the
Börsenblatt for a retail price of 48
kreuzer.
In 1846, three other editions of the book were published. The second edition had 5,000 copies produced, each of which was priced at 57 kreuzer; Hoffmann's royalty was of 6.25 percent per copy. Hoffmann's name was only partially revealed in the second edition, where he used the pseudonym "Hoffmann Kinderslieb". His authorship of the book was, however, fully revealed to the public in an advertisement featured on a Frankfurter Konversationsblatt publication on 11 December 1846. Hoffmann's real name was only fully displayed in the fifth edition, which was published in 1847.
The third edition was the first to be officially titled ''Struwwelpeter'', though the second edition had already been nicknamed as such by some book reviewers.
English editions
The titles ''Struwelpeter'' and ''Strewelpeter'' have been used in multiple English editions of ''Struwwelpeter''. The name ''Slovenly Peter'' was first found in an 1849 American version of the book.
British twin illustrators
Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone provided new illustrations for an English translation published in 1950.
Copyright issues
In 1847, ''Struwwelpeter'' publishing house sued a Nuremberg publisher for printing the book on
broadsheets.
In 1851, the same organization sued publisher Christian Scholz on grounds that he had plagiarized ''Struwwelpeter'' by publishing translations of the book in English, Dutch and Swedish. Scholz lost the case and was sentenced to pay a fine of 1,040 gulden, along with court costs of 127 gulden. He was also ordered to destroy all
lithographic plates and unsold books in his inventory. This became one of the first copyright court cases in Germany.
In 1891
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
wrote his own translation of the book, but because of copyright issues Twain's ''Slovenly Peter'' was not published until 1935, 25 years after his death.
The stories

#''Struwwelpeter'' describes a lazy, dirty boy who does not groom himself properly and is consequently unpopular.
#''Die Geschichte vom bösen Friederich'' ("The Story of Wicked Frederick"): A violent boy terrorizes animals and people. Eventually he is bitten by a dog, who goes on to eat the boy's food while Frederick is bedridden.
#''Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug'' ("The Very Sad Tale with the Matches"): A girl plays with matches, accidentally ignites herself and burns to death. Only her cats mourn her.
#''Die Geschichte von den schwarzen Buben'' ("The Story of the Inky Boys"):
Nikolas (or "Agrippa" in some translations) catches three boys
teasing a dark-skinned boy. To teach them a lesson, he dips them in black ink.
#''Die Geschichte von dem wilden Jäger'' ("The Story of the Wild Huntsman") is the only story not primarily focused on children. In it, a hare steals a hunter's musket and eyeglasses and begins to hunt the hunter. In the ensuing chaos, the hare's child is burned by hot coffee and the hunter jumps into a well.
#''Die Geschichte vom Daumenlutscher'' ("The Story of the Thumb-Sucker"): A mother warns her son Konrad not to
suck his thumbs. However, when she goes out of the house he resumes his thumb-sucking, until a roving tailor appears and cuts off his thumbs with giant scissors.
#''Die Geschichte vom Suppen-Kaspar'' ("The Story of Soup-Kaspar") begins as Kaspar (or "Augustus" in some translations), a healthy, strong boy, proclaims that he will no longer eat his soup. Over the next five days, he becomes skinny, wastes away, and dies. The last illustration shown is of his grave, which has a soup tureen atop it.
#''Die Geschichte vom Zappel-Philipp'' ("The Story of Fidgety Philip"): A boy who won't sit still at dinner accidentally knocks all of the food onto the floor, to his parents' great displeasure.
#''Die Geschichte von Hans Guck-in-die-Luft'' ("The Story of Johnny Look-In-The-Air") concerns a boy who habitually fails to watch where he is walking. One day he walks into a river; he is soon rescued, but his briefcase drifts away.
#''Die Geschichte vom fliegenden Robert'' ("The Story of Flying Robert"): A boy goes outside during a storm. The wind catches his umbrella and lifts him high into the air, with the boy sailing into the distance.
Music, film, and stage adaptations

A British stage production of ''Shockheaded Peter'', by Philip Carr and
Nigel Playfair, with music by Walter Rubens, premiered at the
Garrick Theatre in London on 26 December 1900, and played 41 performances. The title role was played by
George Grossmith Jr., with
Kate Bishop as Mamma and
Kitty Loftus as Harriet. The piece returned to the Garrick the following year, again playing 41 performances from 14 December, this time with
Lawrence Grossmith as Peter,
Nina Boucicault as Harriet and 11-year-old
Marie Lohr as "Child". In a revival at the
Wimbledon Theatre in South London from 26 December 1929 Mamma was played in a limited run of matinees by
Louie Pounds, with H. Scott Russell as Papa, Leslie Holland as Augustus and Rex London as Peter.
Geoffrey Shaw's ''Struwelpeter'', produced in 1914, featured the song "Conrad Suck-a-Thumb" by
Martin Shaw.
A ballet of ''Der Struwwelpeter'' with music composed by
Norbert Schultze was produced in Germany before World War II.
A live action film based on the book was released in Germany in 1955. Directed by
Fritz Genschow, in this adaptation there is a "happy" ending where the characters' bad deeds are reversed.
''
Little Suck-a-Thumb'' (1992) is a psychoanalytical interpretation of the infamous cautionary tale. The short film by writer/director
David Kaplan stars
Cork Hubbert and Evelyn Solann, with Jim Hilbert as the Great Tall Scissorman.
"
The Misadventures of Struwwelpeter" for tenor and piano (also orchestrated for chamber ensemble) was composed by
Michael Schelle in 1991. Five of the stories are included in the original version with piano. "Inky Boys" is included only in the chamber version.
''
Struwwelpeterlieder'' (1996) is a setting of three of the stories for soprano, viola and piano by American composer
Lowell Liebermann.
German composer
Kurt Hessenberg (a descendant of Hoffmann) arranged ''Der Struwwelpeter'' for children's choir (op. 49) later in his life.
''
Shockheaded Peter'' (1998) is a British
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
by
The Tiger Lillies.
that combines elements of
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
and
puppetry with musical versions of the poems with the songs generally following the text. It won a number of British theatre awards in the years following its release.
Composer
Kenneth Hesketh's 2000–2001 work, ''Netsuke'' (from the Japanese miniature sculptures called ''
netsuke'') comprises five short movements inspired variously by
Saint-Exupéry's ''
Le Petit Prince'', ''Struwwelpeter'', and a poem by
Walter de la Mare.
Comics adaptations
German comics artist
David Füleki has created a number of
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
-style adaptions of ''Struwwelpeter'':
* ''Struwwelpeter: Die Rückkehr'' (2009, Tokyopop)
* ''Struwwelpeter: Das große Buch der Störenfriede'' (2009, Tokyopop)
* ''Struwwelpeter in Japan'' (Free Comic Book Day comic; 2012, Delfinium Prints)
The Scissorman story is adapted into comics form by Sanya Glisic in ''
The Graphic Canon'', Volume 2, published in 2012.
Media influences
Literature
English author
Edward Harold Begbie's first published book, ''The Political Struwwelpeter'' (1898), is of British politics, with the
British Lion is as Struwwelpeter, "bedraggled, with long, uncut claws."
W. H. Auden refers to the Scissor-Man in his 1930 poem "The Witnesses" (also known as "The Two"):
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
was parodied as a ''Struwwelpeter'' caricature in 1941 in a book called ''Struwwelhitler'', published in Britain under the pseudonym
Dr. Schrecklichkeit (Dr. Horrors).
The "Story of Soup-Kaspar" is parodied in
Astrid Lindgren's ''
Pippi Longstocking'' (1945), with a tall story about a Chinese boy named Peter who refuses to eat a swallow's nest served to him by his father, and dies of starvation five months later.
English illustrator
Charles Folkard's imaginative study "A Nonsense Miscellany," published in 1956 in
Roger Lancelyn Green's anthology ''The Book of Nonsense, by Many Authors'', is a seaside scene that incorporated
Baron Munchausen, ''Struwwelpeter'', and a variety of characters from the works of
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
and
Edward Lear.
Jamie Rix
Jamie Rix (born 27 April 1958) is an English children's author, television comedy writer, and media producer. He is best known for the book series '' Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids'' and '' The War Diaries of Alistair Fury''; both were adapted ...
said that the book inspired him to create ''
Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids'' when his publisher asked him to write more short stories about rude children.
His mother had given him the book as a child and the stories gave him nightmares.
Rix wanted to create a similar series of books for his children's generation.
''Der Fall Struwwelpeter'' ("The Struwwelpeter Case"), 1989, by Jörg M. Günther is a satirical treatment in which the various misdeeds in the story - both by the protagonists and their surroundings - are analyzed via the regulations of the German
Strafgesetzbuch
''Strafgesetzbuch'' (, literally "penal law book"), abbreviated to ''StGB'', is the German penal code.
History
In Germany the ''Strafgesetzbuch'' goes back to the Penal Code of the German Empire passed in the year 1871 on May 15 in Reichst ...
.
The
Jasper Fforde fantasy/mystery novel ''
The Fourth Bear'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2006) opens with a police
sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a rol ...
by the Nursery Crime Division to arrest the Scissorman.
Comics

German cartoonist
F. K. Waechter's ''Anti-Struwwwelpeter'' (1970) is a parody of ''Der Struwwelpeter''.
Comic book writer
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...
references "Die Geschichte vom Daumenlutscher" in the first story arc of their ''
Doom Patrol'' run with the recurring line, "The door flew open, in he ran / The great, long, red-legged scissorman." Doom Patrol member
Dorothy Spinner, who has the ability to bring imaginary beings to life, considers among her imaginary friends the characters Flying Robert (a ghost baby balloon thing) and The Inky Boys.
The ''
2000 AD'' strip ''
London Falling'' (June–July 2006), by
Simon Spurrier and
Lee Garbett
Lee Garbett is a British comic book artist born in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands. He has worked on History of the British comic, British comics. As of February 2011, he is working freelance after a period of exclusivity with DC Comic ...
, explores bogeymen from English folklore and mythology wreaking havoc in a modern-day setting. Two of the characters, Peter Struwwel and The Tailor, are taken from ''Der Struwwelpeter''.
In the
Wildstorm Comics
Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...
series
''Top 10'', one of the officers in the precinct is called
Shock-Headed Pete, ostensibly in reference to his electrical powers.
Film and TV
In a 1991 edition of the
Thames Television detective series ''
Van der Valk'', entitled "Doctor Hoffman's Children," the detective, played by
Barry Foster, solves a series of murders after finding the book in the bedroom of his house, when his wife relates the tale of the scissorman to their granddaughter. The murders were all done in the style of events in the book.
Brief references are made to the book in the film ''
Woman in Gold'' (2015), when the central character reminisces about her youth in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
during the
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
.
''
The Office'' references the book in Season 2, Episode 18: "
Take Your Daughter to Work Day" (2006).
Dwight Schrute reads ''The story of Johnny head-in-the-air'' and ''The story of the thumb sucker'' to the children, but is interrupted by a horrified
Michael Scott.
''
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' references the "Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb" in a cutaway gag in "
Business Guy,"
the ninth episode in the eighth season, produced in 2009.
In ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' Season 10 Episode 3 "
Thin Ice" (2017), The Doctor reads part of "The Story of the Thumb-Sucker" to the children of 1814 London.
Music
German band
Rammstein included the song "Hilf Mir" "(Help Me)" on their album ''
Rosenrot'' (2005)
It is about a child whose parents are not at home. She discovers matches and sets herself on fire and burns completely.
In the story, the girl's name is Pauline.
XTC were influenced by "The Story of the Thumb-Sucker" when they wrote "Scissor Man". from 1979's ''
Drums and Wires''.
The British post-punk band
Shock Headed Peters, formed in 1982, took their name from the story.
American post-punk band
Slovenly used the popular cover illustration of Struwwelpeter for the cover of their 1987 album,
Riposte
In fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most ...
, on
SST Records.
References to health conditions
The author, Heinrich Hoffmann, worked as a physician and later on as psychiatrist. Some of his stories describe habits of children, which can be in extreme forms signs of
mental disorder
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
s.
[ ]Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...
is called Zappel-Philip-Syndrom (Fidgety-Philip syndrome) colloquially in Germany. The story of the Suppen-Kaspar (Soup-Kaspar) is a case example of anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin.
Individuals wit ...
. Uncombable hair syndrome is also called Struwwelpeter syndrome, after the book title.
See also
* ''Max and Moritz
''Max and Moritz: A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks'' (original: ''Max und Moritz – Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen'') is a German language illustrated story in verse. It was written and illustrated by Wilhelm Busch and published in 186 ...
''
* Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
* '' The Gashlycrumb Tinies''
References
Further reading
*Carpenter, Humphrey, and Mari Prichard. (1984). ''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature''. New York: Oxford University Press.
* Thomann Inge. Russische Kritik an Stjopka-Rastrjopka: pro et contra // Struwwelpost. Herausgegeben vom Freundeskreis des Heinrich-Hoffmann-Museums. Frankfurt-am-Main. 2003 (№9)
* Thomann Inge. Russische Űbersetzungen des Struwwelpeter // Struwwelpost. Herausgegeben vom Freundeskreis des Heinrich-Hoffmann-Museums. Frankfurt-am-Main. 2007 (№13)
External links
The English Struwwelpeter, or, Pretty stories and funny pictures
Internet Archive (Ebook and Texts Archive), including downloadable versions.
Struwwelpeter-Museum in Frankfurt, Germany
(German)
*
{{Authority control
1845 books
German children's books
German-language children's books
Fictional German people
Male characters in literature
Child characters in literature
Children's fiction books
Children's poetry books
Children's short stories
Narrative poems
Short stories adapted into plays
Short stories adapted into films
Literary characters introduced in 1845
1840s children's books
Picture books
19th-century poetry books