The White Snake from the Grimm Brothers

The Six Servants from The Grimm Brothers

Enjoy part two of the Two Brothers from Grimms. You will no doubt be reminded of a great many other stories and I would love to hear about the connections you make. What else do you notice? Do you have any questions about this story?

Enjoy part one of The Two Brothers from the Grimms. And then you might like to listen to Snow White again, or read Shakespeare’s play Cymbeline in full or in Leon Garfield’s Shakespeare Stories Volume II.

Snow White - Grimm Brothers

This is Sleeping Beauty - Grimm Brothers

Welcome to our first Grimms fairy tale - the beloved Cinderella. How is the similar to or different from other Cinderella type stories that you know?

We begin with an English Fairy Tale from Joseph Jacobs, because it goes with the Legend of Lier and Shakespeare’s King Lear that we have been reading in co-op this week.

Jacobs was one of the people influenced by the Grimm Brothers to collect folktales.

To start our new year of fairy tales, I want to share this introduction to the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

If you would like to learn more about the Grimm Brothers, I recommend The Brothers Grimm by Ann Schmiesing. You can find it as an audiobook on Audible and Hoopla, or purchase a hard copy. This biography is detailed and presents the brothers sensitively and favorably without glossing over some of their weaknesses. There is also a biography written for children by Donald Hettinga called The Brothers Grimm: Two Lives, One Legacy. It is harder to find, but worth getting if you come across it in a used bookshop or online used booksellers. 

I also highly recommend the House of Humane Letters How to Read Fairy Tales class. Angelina Stanford shares a lot of background and biographical information about the Grimms, and teaches how to understand the symbolism inherent in fairy tales, making the reading of them a very rich experience. 

I hope you enjoy this year of reading the Grimms Tales together!

Here is a wonderful Italian Folk Tale that reminds me of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline.