Audiobook · read by volunteers
Struwwelpeter
Heinrich Hoffmann (1809–1894)
Read by Catharine Eastman · 1 chapter · 21 min
About the book
Little Harriet plays with matches. Cruel Frederick torments animals. Augustus refuses to eat his soup. Each is warned, each ignores the warning, and the consequences are always, shall we say, dramatic. Struwwelpeter, or Slovenly Peter, is a collection of rhymed stories in which naughty children meet comic and frightening ends. Heinrich Hoffmann, a doctor in Frankfurt, wrote it for his young son in the 1840s, after failing to find a picture book he liked. The verses gallop along, the pictures are unforgettable, and the tone swings between mock-solemn warning and wild exaggeration. It has delighted and horrified children for generations, and its influence on later children's literature has been significant. This reading lasts about twenty-five minutes. Fair warning: it is not a bedtime story for the faint-hearted. Hoffmann's verses are lively and the pace is brisk.
Introduction
Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-1894) was a physician in Frankfurt who, in the 1840s, wanted to buy a picture book for his son for Christmas. Not impressed by what the shops had to offer, he bought a notebook instead and wrote his own stories and pictures. The result, first published in the 1840s and known as Struwwelpeter, became one of the most famous children's books in German and was soon translated into many languages. The book is also a landmark in the history of the illustrated children's book, and the pictures were as famous as the verses, even though they are absent in an audio recording.
The book is an illustrated collection of humorous children's poems describing ludicrous and usually violent punishments for naughty behaviour. A boy who sucks his thumb has it cut off, a girl who plays with fire burns to nothing, a boy who will not eat his soup wastes away. The tone is exaggerated, and some readers see the book as a parody of the moralising tales of the day rather than a straightforward warning. Still, it has remained notorious for its perceived brutal treatment of the erring children. Its influence has been wide. Mark Twain made a translation, and the book has been named as an influence on many later works for children, most notably Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
This recording consists of a single chapter, Merry Stories and Funny Pictures, and lasts about twenty-five minutes. It is read by one LibriVox volunteer.
It is a curious and memorable listen, best approached with a sense of humour and a taste for the macabre.
Public domain
Heinrich Hoffmann died in 1894: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text