Clever Maids: The Secret History of the Grimm Fairy TalesThe famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm - stories like Snow White , Red Riding Hood , and Rumplestiltskin - are know to millions of people around the world and are deeply embedded in the collective psyche. In this charming account, writer and scholar Valerie Paradiz reveals the true story of how the fairy tales came to be. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, collectors and editors of more than 200 folk stories, were major German intellects of the nineteenth century, contemporaries of Goethe and Schiller. But as Paradiz reveals here, the romantic image of the two brothers traveling the countryside, transcribing tales told to them by peasants, is a far cry from the truth. In fact, more than half the fairy tales the Grimm brothers collected were actually contributed by their educated female friends from the bourgeois and aristocratic classes. While German folkloric scholars-all of them male-fancied themselves the keepers of the cultural flame, it was a handful of women who ensured that millions would know the stories of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella by heart. Set against the backdrop of the chaotic Napoleonic wars and the years of high German romanticism, Clever Maids chronicles one of the most fascinating literary collaborations in European history and brilliantly captures the intellectual spirit of the men and women of the age. Even more, it illuminates the ways in which the Grimm tales, with their mythic portrayals of courage, sacrifice, and betrayal, still speak so powerfully to us today. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
added Annette von Droste-Hülshoff anthology army Arnim arrived asks Aunt beautiful became become begins boys Brentano bring brothers brothers Grimm Brüder Grimm called child Children’s and Household collecting contributed daughter death devil Doctor door Dorothea Dortchen edition entire Europe eyes fairy tale fairy tales father felt female Ferdinand French German girl give hand happens Hassenpflug Haxthausen heart Henriette heroine hope Household Fairy husband included Jacob and Wilhelm Jacob Grimm journey Kassel king ladies later leave letter lived Lotte lovely maid maiden male Marburg March Marie married means mother moved never night once poor princess publication published Rölleke says shared sister soldier stories tells thing told took turn volume wanted wife Wild Wilhelm Grimm woman women wrote young