Merry Christmas to one and all! Join us for another end of year party at Grimm Castle, where we delve deep into The Nutcracker And The Mouse King, almost completely losing our minds. We then sober up with a special surprise short story, featuring some unlikely characters…

So join us for a cracker, a mince pie, spiced wine, gifts, and merriment a-plenty at this year’s Grimm Reading Christmas party. 

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko

Other Music:  Tchaikovsky's" Dance Of The Flutes" and "Russian Dance" from The Nutcracker Suite from the music.org European Archive // Sergei Prokofiev - Lieutenant Kije Suite: Troika, performed by Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra // Tchaikovsky's "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker Suite performed by Kevin Macleod

For one last time, the Devil's grandma is back.

After three soldiers desert the army, they make a bargain with the Devil for their souls. After seven fun-filled years, the Devil arrives to claim his debt. But perhaps Grandma can offer our unlikely heroes a helping hand...

Riddles, dragons and magic whips - join us for The Devil And His Grandmother.

We also talk dragons in the bible, and explore the fascinating legend of Faust and the Faustian pact, through Marlowe to Goethe.

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko

Other Music: Demersseman's Solo de Concert no. 4, Op. 80 // Chopin's Étude Op. 10, no. 5 in G flat major - 'Black Keys' // Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor 'Lento con gran espressione', B. 49 (Op. posth.) // Wagner's Faust Overture

In this interview episode, we talk to author and poet Clare Pollard about her latest novel: The Modern Fairies.

Set in the Paris and Versailles of Louis the XIV, the novel drops us into the heart of Madame D’Alnouy’s illustrious, raucous, and radical salon. It's "Disney meets Dangerous Liaisons" and a brilliant, cosy read.

We talk to Clare about fairy tales, writing, salons, audiobooks and plenty more besides. 

Discover Clare's writings through her website. You can also subscribe to her Substack and follow her on Instagram. 

And treat yourself to a copy of The Modern Fairies while you're at it.

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko

Adam's Christmas comes early as we find ourselves in an enchanted cat castle in this week's Grimm story. 

When an old miller challenges his apprentices to find the best horse, one befriends a cat who promises to help. But is she more than she seems?

After the story, we find ourselves in early-modern Paris where we meet fairy tale behemoth Madame D'Aulnouy. We hear of her extraordinary life as well as a short version of her related story, The White Cat. 

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko

Other Music: Liszt's Waltz aus dem Ballet Die Amazonen // Leroy Anderson's The Waltzing Cat, performed by Markus Staab // Schumann's Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15 - III. Blind Man's Buff, performed by Donald Betts

We take on Donkey Cabbages - one of the most bizarre and barmy tales we've heard in a while.

Not only do we get witches, giants and magic clouds, we also discover a new concept - the minimal counterintuitive hypothesis. What makes a story stick? Some scientists think they've found the answer...

We then briefly look at man-donkeys in storytelling, say hi to Shakespeare, and meet the long-forgotten German folkhero Fortunatus.

Here's a link to the paper we discuss in the episode: Memory and Mystery: The Cultural Selection of Minimally Counterintuitive Narratives

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko

Other Music: Grieg's Holberg Suite, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston // Massenet's Toccata Jules Massenet, performed Jean Dube

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko

Other Music: Rachmaninoff's Canon in E Minor, performed by Luis Kolodin // Rachmaninoff's String Quartett No. 2 performed by Steve Jones // Rachmaninoff's Etudes-Tableaux Op. 39 performed by Peter Bradley-Fulgoni // Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor

We’re back with a brand new series and a brand new volume of tales...

And we begin with The Four Skillful Brothers, a story of masterly thievery, improbable astronomy, dastardly dragons, and a man who sews up eggs.

After the story, we explore its origins before doing a deep dive on dragons: including the history of rescuing princesses from dragons in storytelling, and a patriotic stretch where we look into the Welsh red dragon and the story of St. George.

We can’t wait to get stuck into Volume 2; thanks for sticking around!

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko

Other Music: Dvorak's Romance for violin and piano, performed by Goldstein and M Pavel // Schubert's Fantasy in C Major Op.15 D.760 'Wanderer' - I. Allegro con fuoco

We have our winner! Step on into the castle for a glitzy awards night where we reveal the Grimmbledon champion, as well as the results of the Special Awards.

Thank you so much to everyone who's listened and taken part.

We're away now for the rest of the summer. Click here to pick up a copy of our special Aladdin episode to see you through the hot (northern) summer days, otherwise we'll meet again round the fire for the Grimms' Volume 2 later in the year!

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko

Other Music: Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, op. 58, G major (1st movement, allegro moderato), performed by Debbie Hu // Brahms' Waltz op. 39, No. 15, performed by Paul Cantrell 

Find out which four stories survived the Semi-Finals and made it to the finals! Voting for the final is live right now. Cast your vote here:

https://forms.gle/xkvy8aVEd9EH4qkT9 

Or visit www.grimmreading.wordpress.com/final

In the episode, we also read out voters' comments with their reasoning for their choices. And we launch a final Special Awards Poll. It's all go here as we ramp up for the final!

We'll be back soon to crown a champion. In the meantime, keep it grimm!

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko

Other Music:  Beethoven's Sonata No. 8 in C Minor Pathétique, Op. 13 - III. Rondo - Allegro 1

The time has arrived to finish off the Grimms’ Children’s Legends, and in this episode we hear the four remaining stories: The Twelve Apostles, Poverty And Humility Lead to Heaven, The Heavenly Wedding, and The Hazel Branch.

We again do our best to parse the piety and manage the misery, and rate them out of 10.

Still one day left to vote in Semi-Final 2. Link here: https://forms.gle/TjJnhyuZ3uVKEvrRA

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko

Other Music: Brahms' Piano Sonata no. 3 in Fm, Op. 5 - I. Allegro maestoso, performed by Luis Sarro