Mark Glanville

The criminal code of Rotwelsch deciphered

Martin Puchner examines the secret language that evolved among thieves and beggars in Central Europe, incomprehensible to all but themselves

Beggars in 19th-century Central Europe. Credit: Getty Images

  • The Language of Thieves: The Story of Rotwelsch and One Family’s Secret History

    Martin Puchner

    Granta, pp. 288, £16

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