The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Publication Date
2014
Language
English

Description

The original version of the Grimms' tales in English for the first time—in an acclaimed, illustrated editionWhen Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their Children's and Household Tales in 1812, followed by a second volume in 1815, they had no idea that such stories as "Rapunzel," "Hansel and Gretel," and "Cinderella" would become the most celebrated in the world. Yet few people today are familiar with the majority of tales from the two early volumes, since in the next four decades the Grimms would publish six other editions, each extensively revised in content and style. For the very first time, The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm makes available in English all 156 stories from the 1812 and 1815 editions. These narrative gems, newly translated and brought together in one beautiful book, are accompanied by sumptuous new illustrations from award-winning artist Andrea Dezsö.From "The Frog King" to "The Golden Key," wondrous worlds unfold—heroes and heroines are rewarded, weaker animals triumph over the strong, and simple bumpkins prove themselves not so simple after all. Esteemed fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes offers accessible translations that retain the spare description and engaging storytelling style of the originals. Indeed, this is what makes the tales from the 1812 and 1815 editions unique—they reflect diverse voices, rooted in oral traditions, that are absent from the Grimms' later, more embellished collections of tales. Zipes's introduction gives important historical context, and the book includes the Grimms' prefaces and notes.A delight to read, The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm presents these peerless stories to a whole new generation of readers.

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Contributors
Dezsö, Andrea Illustrator
Grimm, Jacob Author
Grimm, Wilhelm Author
Zipes, Jack Translator
ISBN
9781400851898

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Published Reviews

Choice Review

The US's most prolific and deeply insightful fairy tales scholar, Zipes (emer., Univ. of Minnesota) offers a keen and sophisticated, fresh and colloquial, first-time translation-complete with discerning introduction-of the Grimms's original two-volume opus of 156 stories, first published in 1812 and 1815. The Grimms brought out six succeeding editions, revising the originals-offering dramatic changes to the prototypes, replacing some 50 tales with different versions, and adding illustrations and embellishments for families and children. Many of the originals retain more of the pungent flavor of the oral tradition than do the final versions. Wilhelm wished to retrofit the tales for the middle class, and Jacob joined in that effort, with the result that the stories of the 1857 edition were the Grimms's, not those of the original tellers of the tales. Still, the Grimms never wavered in holding that natural, pure forms of literature were linguistic, located in the folk past-the essence of Volk culture emanating from people's organic experiences. Zipes appends the Grimms's detailed list of contributors and informants (Arnim, Brentano, Hassenpflug, the Haxthausen family, Runge, Viehmann, the Wild family, et al.) and "Notes to Volumes I & II," mostly the Grimms's own extraneous material plus named sources for each tale wherever known. Summing Up: Essential. All readers. --LaVern J. Rippley, St. Olaf College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
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