Grimm's Grimmest: Amazon.co.uk: Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm: Books

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Product Description

Grimm's Grimmest are not your typical bedtime stories. Drawing on the original German stories, this book presents 19 of the darkest and most dramatic tales collected by the Grimm Brothers. Some of these tales are recognizable, but contain elements that have long since been removed. From the true horror of Aschenputtel (the original Cinderella story) to Rapunzel's dark secret, here are the authentic stories born in the land of the Black Forest, at a time when fairy tales weren't necessarily for children, 14 long stories each open with a glorious colour oil painting commissioned especially for this book. Five shorter stories feature a black and white opening illustration. All stories are further illustrated with black and white spot art throughout.

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First Sentence
A LONG TIME AGO there was a rich man who had a beautiful and pious wife. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grimm's Grimmest -- horrific, but enlightening, 2 April 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Grimm's Grimmest (Paperback)

I must confess to ambivalent feelings about this book. The stories are sordid accounts of hideous people committing unspeakable acts with the basest of motives. Hannibal Lecter could step into the pages of one of these stories without even a change in costume. The idea that anyone, anywhere, any time, could have considered these tales appropriate for children boggles the mind.

Then why would anyone want to read them? Well, the archetypal human concerns woven into these macabre tales still pong home with disconcerting clarity, just as they did in feudal Germany hundreds of years ago. Loveless existence, infertility, betrayal, greed, jealously, incest, poverty, disaster; the stories read like a laundry list of the most tragic bits of the human experience and, sadly, the subject matter hasn't changed much, only the manner of expression.

The book opens with a comprehensive introduction by Maria Tatar, which provides an excellent frame of reference for what could otherwise be merely a jumble of surreal images. In the early 1800's two brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, collected and retold old German folktales. Discovering a lucrative market for children's morality stories, they created successive revisions targeted especially for children. Sexual content was suppressed, but violence was not. Whether by popular demand of due to quirks of their own, the Grimms in some cases even escalated the violent images.

Viewing the original folktales as allegorical teaching tools, designed to help adults cope with life problems, it all begins to make sense. Each story contains at least one rather heavy-handed lesson -- morality written large: "Greed will get you in the end." "Disobedient children are likely to die a hideous death." "Don't bemoan your childlessness or you may give birth to a hedgehog."

I was intrigued by the little secondary assumptions that are included in the stories and give clues to the cultural orientation. Oddly enough, there are a number of strong, independent female characters. Where did they come from? Children are expendable, not entitled to love, and the challenge seems to have been how to get as much work and as little aggravation from them as possible. For women, marriage was a huge, inescapable gamble. One must marry, but the bridegroom was as likely to turn out to be a cannibal as a prince.

Read these stories like a book of puzzles, looking for the main morality lesson and digging out the secondary assumptions, and they act as a mirror held up to our own society. What has changed? What is the same? What is better, what is worse? Horrific they may be, but vastly enlightening as well.

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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Book, 4 July 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Grimm's Grimmest (Paperback)

There seems very little point telling you about this book, the previous review seems to say everything that needs to be said about it. However, on top of our curiosity for these amazing stories is the fact that this is one of the best presented books I have seen for a long, long time. I wanted this book to replace an old childhood favourite that is long lost. I would have found it hard to get anything better than this. The illustrations in this book are superb. From the full colour plates through to the black and whites inserted within the text. Each one beautifully captures the tales they tell. If you like the "Fairy Tales" and want the presentation to be of high standard - look no further. I love this book, and have already ordered another copy as a present for a sick-minded friend! This is a must have on the bookshelf!

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grimm's Grimmest -- horrific, but enlightening, 2 April 1998

By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Grimm's Grimmest (Paperback)

I must confess to ambivalent feelings about this book. The stories are sordid accounts of hideous people committing unspeakable acts with the basest of motives. Hannibal Lecter could step into the pages of one of these stories without even a change in costume. The idea that anyone, anywhere, any time, could have considered these tales appropriate for children boggles the mind.

Then why would anyone want to read them? Well, the archetypal human concerns woven into these macabre tales still pong home with disconcerting clarity, just as they did in feudal Germany hundreds of years ago. Loveless existence, infertility, betrayal, greed, jealously, incest, poverty, disaster; the stories read like a laundry list of the most tragic bits of the human experience and, sadly, the subject matter hasn't changed much, only the manner of expression.

The book opens with a comprehensive introduction by Maria Tatar, which provides an excellent frame of reference for what could otherwise be merely a jumble of surreal images. In the early 1800's two brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, collected and retold old German folktales. Discovering a lucrative market for children's morality stories, they created successive revisions targeted especially for children. Sexual content was suppressed, but violence was not. Whether by popular demand of due to quirks of their own, the Grimms in some cases even escalated the violent images.

Viewing the original folktales as allegorical teaching tools, designed to help adults cope with life problems, it all begins to make sense. Each story contains at least one rather heavy-handed lesson -- morality written large: "Greed will get you in the end." "Disobedient children are likely to die a hideous death." "Don't bemoan your childlessness or you may give birth to a hedgehog."

I was intrigued by the little secondary assumptions that are included in the stories and give clues to the cultural orientation. Oddly enough, there are a number of strong, independent female characters. Where did they come from? Children are expendable, not entitled to love, and the challenge seems to have been how to get as much work and as little aggravation from them as possible. For women, marriage was a huge, inescapable gamble. One must marry, but the bridegroom was as likely to turn out to be a cannibal as a prince.

Read these stories like a book of puzzles, looking for the main morality lesson and digging out the secondary assumptions, and they act as a mirror held up to our own society. What has changed? What is the same? What is better, what is worse? Horrific they may be, but vastly enlightening as well.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grimmer than what I heard as a kid, 20 May 2003

By Lynne Shaney "sandrag" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Grimm's Grimmest (Paperback)

Liked the illustrations to this volume of the darker tales, especially Juniper Tree, which was an amazing story that makes you realize just how awful the stepmothers of fairy tales are. Some of the stories are familiar but quite a few were new to me, so this was something of an adventure.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful and fascinating read, 31 Aug 2003

By JoJo Lesher - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Grimm's Grimmest (Paperback)

I received this book as a Christmas present last year, and it has quickly become one of my all-time favorites. Okay, yes, the stories are pretty darn gory, with decapitations and/or mutilations playing a prominent role in quite a few of them, not to mention the incest and cannibalism and so forth, so you need to keep this book away from the kiddies. That aside, it's a wonderful and fascinating collection of tales. The illustrations are very nice, and there's a lot of them. Plus there's a great introduction at the beginning that gives the reader more of a background story on the Grimms and their work. Overall, a fantastic book.

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