The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm | 1812–1815 | Gramercy Books | Hardcover $ 17.99
A beautifully illustrated collection that contains all 215 of the Grimm brothers’ classic fairy tales.
I’ve had a copy of this book on my shelf for years; I have, over those years, opened it up and read a little story here, a little story there, but never the whole thing all at once, not unlike snacking when you’re hungry for something but can’t sit down for a full meal. And, like many people, I’ve picked up endless adaptations of some of the more famous stories in the pack. But it was past time for me to move beyond snack stories and adaptations and actually read.
It took me a couple of months to get through this one — not because it’s a big book, though it is that, but because it’s just actually not meant to be read all at once. The somewhat fragmented nature of the collected tales make it conducive to reading one or two at a time while having a quick lunch or waiting for the laundry cycle to be finished. By the time I’d finished the last stories in the book, I probably couldn’t tell you anything about most of the first ones.
On a personal note, I can’t help but wonder if my own ancestors, Germans who immigrated in the 1820’s, ever read any of the earliest editions of these books. Or, perhaps they were already familiar with some of the folktales told locally in their own community. If I knew whether my great^Nth-grandparents would have known any particular tales in this collection, I think I’d feel more personally attached to those stories in particular.
This is really a collection of stories for people who want a deeper understanding of folk tales generally, who want to know more about the origins of kid-friendlified childhood fairy tales, and, perhaps, who are just interested in the cultural history of Germany.
Links:
- Read at Library of Congress
- Read at Project Gutenberg
- Grimm Library at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- TV Tropes
Publication information: Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales. New York City, NY: Gramercy, 1993. Print.
Source: Personal library.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
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