BOOK REVIEW: THE ANNOTATED BROTHERS GRIMM - BICENTENNIAL EDITION

By Joseph Romero

NEW YORK, 20 APRIL 2013 — December 20, 2012, marked the 200th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of Grimm’s Children's and Household Tales. And while it is generally acknowledged that some of these tales can be quite horrific in their character development or narratives, they remain a fascinating branch of the Central European canon.

"My goodness, my goodness! they all exclaimed. What a beautiful child!"
The dwarves are delighted to discover Snow White in their house.
Illustration: Warwick Goble, 1923
W.W. Norton Bicentennial Edition of the Brothers Grimm fairytales
Picture: C/O W. W. Norton & Co

Fresh translations with concise and insightful annotations make this new illustrated edition the resource of choice, not only for readers with a literary or cultural interest in these tales, but will be especially helpful to parents in the sometimes awkward position of trying to answer the perfectly reasonable questions of small children curious about the bizarre transformations, social damnation or violent fates of quite a few characters in Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859) Grimm's Germanic tales of magic and wonder.

In addition to popular favourites such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Rapunzel, Harvard scholar 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 Annotated Brothers Grimm
Bicentenntial Edition, Expanded and Updated
Edited by Maria Tatar
Introduction by A.S. Byatt
Hardcover: 552 pages
75 colour and 75 black-and-white illustrations
W.W. Norton & Company
ISBN-10: 0393088863

$35.00

Related Culturekiosque Archives

Les Enfants du Paradis: Extreme Makeover

[ Feedback | Home ]

If you value this page, please send it to a friend.