The Grimm Brothers

     This book researches the Grimm Brothers- Jacob (born 1785) and Wilhelm (born 1786).  It destroys the myth that two men travelled far and wide to record these tales.  Actually, they got many of their stories from their sister Lotte's friends. Those women remembered the tales from their youth.
  Jacob and Wilhelm began publishing volumes of fairy tales and after the second volume was printed, male scholars took the work seriously and began digging up old manuscripts to contribute to the collections.  There were 7 editions, (210 stories in all) often with two volumes per edition, from 1812 to 1857, called "Children's and Household Fairy Tales".
   When the first editions were published, there was much criticism because, although they were targeted to children, it was felt that aspects of the stories were not suitable for children.  So...
Quote: "They transformed the too shocking, amoral stories through the lens of middle-class concepts: wicked mothers became evil stepmothers, nude princes were splendidly dressed, and Rapunzel's pregnancy remained undiscovered by the wicked witch as well as by the young reader."

Fairy tales have been told since the Middle Ages.  They speak to our psyche in strange ways. They are compelling in their portrayal of the human condition.