Grimm's Household Tales

The Brothers Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), began collecting folklore in 1806 in response to a renewed German interest in the subject. Their first collection of fairy tales, Children’s and Household Tales, was published in 1812, forever popularizing such stories as “Cinderella,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Rapunzel,” and “Snow White.”           Mervyn Peake’s illustrated edition of the Grimms’ Household Tales was originally published in 1946, and this is the first time it has been made available since then with the original color illustrations. Like the Grimms’ stories, Peake’s illustrations combine the comic and the sinister and evoke a strong sense of childhood fear and humor. Stories by the Grimms remain wildly popular to this day, and this beautiful edition contains many old favorites such as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Snow White,” and “Cinderella,” as well as a number of less familiar tales. Complementing the stories and illustrations is an introduction by novelist Sarah Waters, a lifelong fan of Peake’s illustrations.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Mervyn Peake (1911–68) was a writer, artist, poet, and playwright, best known for his gothic masterpiece, the Gormenghast Trilogy, and his stunning illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.