Grimm’s Fairy Tales is a collection of German fairy tales first published by brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1812 under the title Children’s and Household Tales. The collection appeared at a time when the Romantic movement of the early 19th century revived an interest in traditional folk stories. At the same time native folklore was seen as an important part of an emerging German national identity as the political system changed from a group of 200 principalities to a single state some sixty years later. At first the collection was thought to be unsuitable for children due to subject matter and the level of scholarly detail. Changes were made through the years with each edition to remove sexual references; violence, however, was seldom reduced and sometime increased.

The collection grew from 86 stories in the first edition to a total of 211 tales in the seventh edition, which appeared in 1857. A smaller edition of 50 titles for child readers called Kleine Ausgabe was released in 1825 and went through ten editions from 1825 to 1858. The work of the brothers inspired others to do similar work in their own cultures in Russia, England, Norway, and elsewhere. The tales have been translated into over 100 languages and have inspired numerous film, television, and theatrical treatments. This collection includes 63 of the best known tales, including classics such as “The Frog Prince”, “Rapunzel”, “Hansel and Gretel”, “Tom Thumb”, “Rumplestiltskin”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “Snow White”.

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