The Horrific Sufferings Of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot

Hercules Barefoot was born in 1813 in a brothel in Königsberg.  He is born deaf-mute and hideously deformed, a dwarf, but endowed with a rare gift: He can read people’s minds.

Above all this is the tale of a singular and moving love story. Hercule never forgets Henriette, the girl he grew up with. After they are separated he looks for her all over Europe, never completely giving up hope.

The reader follows his search for Henriette, which takes him to convents and mental hospitals, to the Vatican and to vaudeville theatres, while also offering an insight into the development of a language for deaf people.

Above all this is the tale of a singular and moving love story. Hercule never forgets Henriette, the girl he grew up with. After they are separated he looks for her all over Europe, never completely giving up hope.