Format: Paperback
Size: 23.5 x 15.5 cm
Extent: 612 pages
Publisher: Temple Lodge
Publication Date: 8. December 2025
ISBN: 9781915776419
Philip Henry, 4th Earl Stanhope, was considered by his contemporaries one of the most enigmatic figures surrounding the mystery of Kaspar Hauser. An English aristocrat who assumed the role of Hauser’s foster father, Stanhope presented himself as a benevolent philanthropist concerned solely with the young man’s welfare. Hauser – who appeared on the streets of Nuremberg at the age of sixteen, claiming to have been raised in total isolation – was hailed as a symbol of ‘natural innocence’ and dubbed ‘the Child of Europe’. But five years later, he was dead from a stab wound to the chest. Though whispers of Stanhope’s involvement in the tragedy have persisted, they have never been definitively proven – until now.
JOHANNES MAYER (1933–2023) assumed leadership of the Christian Community’s publishing house, Verlag Urachhaus, in 1965. Over his three-decade tenure at the Stuttgart-based company – until its merger with Verlag Freies Geistesleben in 1996 – he oversaw the publication of numerous significant works on religion, philosophy and art. Following the merger, Mayer founded his own publishing venture, Johannes Mayer Verlag, which he ran until its acquisition by Info3 in 2013, just before his 80th birthday. Beyond publishing, Mayer was a dedicated researcher of the enigmatic figure Kaspar Hauser. In collaboration with Peter Tradowsky, he compiled an extensive compendium in 1984, drawing on archival materials inherited from historian and Hauser expert Hermann Pies. His scholarly pursuit led him to the Stanhope archives in England, where he meticulously examined historical documents for years. The fruits of this research were published in German in 1988 as a seminal volume on the subject.
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