Grimms' Fairy Tales

Description

First published in Germany in 1812, these tales were collected by the two brothers Grimm from neighbouring villages and spinning rooms, and include Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Rumpelstiltskin. Arthur Rackham's illustrations were first published in 1900.

Jacob Grimm was born in 1785, followed by his brother Wilhelm in 1786. Their father, Phillipp, a judge, was ambitious and prosperous, while their mother, Dorothea, was a devoted and caring housewife, and they also had three more brothers and a sister. They lived in the town of Steinau in central Germany, in a large comfortable home. All the children went to school, and Jacob and Wilhelm were particularly bright and hard-working. Philipp Grimm died suddenly in 1796 and Dorothea and her children had to live on a much smaller income, though arrangements were made for Jacob and Wilhelm to continue their studies at a prestigious high school. Although the brothers were very different - Jacob was serious and strong, while Wilhelm was outgoing, cheerful and asthmatic - they were inseparable and totally devoted to one another.They were both determined to prove themselves to be the best students at their school, studying for more than twelve hours a day. At university, the brothers discovered the study of ancient German literature and folk tales and began to collect these fairy stories, which were eventually published in two large volumes in 1812 and 1815. The brothers worked in business and law before both becoming librarians in the King's library, and together they wrote many books about German literature, language and folklore, as well as beginning work on the first German dictionary. Wilhelm died in 1859, and Jacob became more solitary than ever, though he continued to work on the brothers' shared projects until his own death in 1863. Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859) were born in Hanau, Germany. They published the first of their many collections of fairy tales in 1812. The story that they wandered about Germany collecting their tales from the lips of peasants is a fairy tale itself. In fact, they invited educated middle class women into their home to tell them the stories they had heard from their servants. The point of their collection of folklore was to study the German language and they also did important work on the German dictionary. The stories were revised to be more appropriate for children in 1819 and were published under the title Children's and Household Tales. By the beginning of the twentieth century Children's and Household Tales was second only to the Bible in the German bestseller lists. Angela Carter was born in 1940 and read English at Bristol University, before spending two years living in Japan. She lived and worked extensively in the United States and Australia. Her first novel, Shadow Dance, was published in 1965, followed by the Magic Toyshop in 1967, which went on to win the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. She wrote a further four novels, together with three collections of short stories, two works of non-fiction and a volume of collected writings. Angela Carter died in 1992.