The Annotated Brothers Grimm

Publication of the Grimms’ Children’s Stories and Household Tales in 1812 brought the great European oral folk tradition into print for the first time. The Annotated Brothers Grimm returns in a deluxe and augmented 200th-anniversary edition commemorating that landmark event. Adding to such favorites as “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Snow White,” and “Rapunzel,” Maria Tatar includes six new entries, among them “Four Clever Brothers,” “The Water of Life,” “The White Snake,” and “The Old Man and His Grandson.” The expanded edition features an enhanced selection of illustrations, many in color, by legendary artists such as George Cruikshank and Arthur Rackham; annotations that explore the historical origins, cultural context, and psychological effects of the tales; and a biographical essay on Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. A perennial favorite in the acclaimed Norton Annotated series, this magnificent volume will draw both children and adults into the enchanting world of fairy tales.

"The 200th anniversary of the publication of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's Children's Stories and Household Tales is the occasion for Tatar, a Harvard professor and leading fairytale scholar, to expand her annotated translation of selected tales (initially published in 2004). Adding only six new stories to the previous edition, readers won't find much new reading material here, but illustrations and expanded annotations enrich the text. Divided into 'The Tales' (for children) and 'Tales for Adults,' there's fodder for burgeoning bookworms, nostalgic grown-ups, and serious academics. Beloved classics like 'Rumpelstiltskin,' 'Hansel and Gretel,' and 'Rapunzel' occupy the first section, whereas lesser-known tales like the grisly 'How Children Played Butcher with Each Other' and the anti-Semitic 'The Jew in the Brambles' are appropriately sequestered in the second. But despite the separation, Tatar is consistent in her scholarly examination of each story — in illuminating introductions and annotations, she is equally comfortable calling up the German philosopher Walter Benjamin, imagining how audiences might respond to particular passages, and providing cross-references to other stories. This rich and valuable edition brilliantly showcases the brothers' storytelling acumen, and reinforces their tales as timeless for both children and for scholars. Illus. (Oct.)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Celebrate the 200th birthday of the Brothers Grimm stories with this lavish volume now richly expanded for a new generation.

Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) is the author, along with his brother Wilhelm, of the classic tales of folklore and fantasy collectively known as Grimm's Fairy Tales. Also a librarian and dictionary writer, Jacob was an acclaimed linguist and academic who elaborated "Grimm's Law," a major historical breakthrough in the development of the study of linguistics.Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859) studied law in the early 1800s but became much better known as an accomplished and passionate storyteller and, with his brother Jacob, one of the Grimm Brothers, who gave the world the groundbreaking and fantastic collection of folklore, fairy stories, and fantasy tales we now call Grimm's Fairy Tales.Maria Tatar chairs the Program in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University. She is the author of Enchanted Hunters: The Power of Stories in Childhood, Off with Their Heads! Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood and many other books on folklore and fairy stories. She is also the editor and translator of The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen, The Annotated Brothers Grimm, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, The Annotated Peter Pan, The Classic Fairy Tales: A Norton Critical Edition and The Grimm Reader. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Maria Tatar chairs the Program in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University. She is the author of Enchanted Hunters: The Power of Stories in Childhood, Off with Their Heads! Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood and many other books on folklore and fairy stories. She is also the editor and translator of The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen, The Annotated Brothers Grimm, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, The Annotated Peter Pan, The Classic Fairy Tales: A Norton Critical Edition and The Grimm Reader. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.