Lord Stanhope

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 His scholarly pursuit led him to the Stanhope archives in England, where he meticulously examined historical documents for years.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.

• Introduction-'One of the strangest figures...' by Johannes Mayer1. The Parental Home-Childhood and Youth, 1781-18002. Flight and Return-Studies in Erlangen, 1801-18023. Founding a Family-Mission to Sicily, 1803-18134. Mission to Dresden-Meeting with Gentz in Vienna, 1814-18165. Family Life in Chevening-Parliamentary Activity, 1817-18206. The Three Journeys to Mannheim and Karlsruhe-The First Meeting with Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden, 1821-18237. Vienna-Gentz and Metternich, 1825-18278. Kaspar Hauser Appears in Nuremberg-The Struggle for the Palatinate, 18289. The First Murder Attempt-Stanhope in Nuremberg, 182910. The 'Last' Zahringer-The First Hochberg-Aspects of the Transfer of Power, 183011. Negotiating Adoption-Stanhope becomes the foster father, 183112. Separation-The Fraudster Theory, 183213. The Death Year-Kaspar Hauser-Anselm von Feuerbach, 183314. Stanhope organises the opponents-Joseph Hickel and Karl Merker, 1834-183515. The Last Years-Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden at Chevening, 1836-185516. 'I was a servant of events'NotesFamily Trees: Stanhope, Pitt, Bourbon, Orleans, Beauharnais, Bonaparte, Wittelsbach, ZahringerIndex of Names and Places

Select Guide Rating