The Original Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition, Translated by Jack Zipes

“When 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.” –Amazon.com

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Grimms First Edition translated by Jack Zipes

“This collection contains many of the most-loved fairy tales in the history of the form . . . The book is a classic, formed like a mosaic of precious small pieces, each one glinting with its own color and character, glass and crystalline, but somehow hard, unyielding.”–Marina Warner, New York Review of Books

[A] faithful translation–accompanied by striking black-and-white illustrations, evocative of shadow theatre, by Andrea Dezsö. . . . [T]he Grimms are spare, spinning the tales into beautifully wrought short stories.”–Francesca Wade, Times Literary Supplement

“This new translation . . . allows those without German expertise a chance to re-experience familiar stories in all their original Hemingwayesque terseness.”–Michael Dirda, Washington Post

“[T]he new Zipes translation of the first edition, with all its notes and annotations, is a must, a treasure for anyone with a serious interest in fairy tales, the motifs of which linger perpetually in the collective mind.”–Carmel Bird, Sydney Morning Herald

“Thoroughly engaging, Zipes’ translations into colloquial American English breathe life into these stories. Award-winning artist Andrea Dezsö’s cut-paper black and white illustrations capture the essence of this strange and enchanting world that will entice fans of mystical realms and those interested in better understanding the Grimms’ enduring influence on literature.”–Barbara Basbanes Richter, Fine Books & Collections

“[M]agnificent . . . what makes this newly released original volume especially enchanting are the breathtaking illustrations by Romanian-born artist Andrea Dezsö.”–Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

“Zipes, who edited and translated the new collection, has done splendid work, first in arguing for the early tales’ significance. . . . Zipes’ most important achievement, though, is simply putting the complete, uncensored tales before readers to judge for themselves. . . . The Original Folk and Fairy Tales–beautifully illustrated by Andrea Dezsö, by the way–isn’t the Disneyfied version of the Brothers Grimm that we all grew up with. But for readers whose tastes lean more to, say, Tim Burton, wading into the collection might feel like stumbling into an agreeably dark and Gothic forest.”–Doug Childers, Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Never before published in English, the first edition of the Brothers Grimms’ tales reveals an unsanitised version of the stories that have been told at bedtime for more than 200 years. . . . His version of the original 156 stories . . . shows a very different side to the well-known tales, as well as including some gruesome new additions.”–Alison Flood, The Guardian

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