内容简介
Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, and Snow White are among
the jewels we owe to the German brothers Grimm, who began in the
first decade of the 19th century to seek out and listen to village
storytellers. The best-loved of the tales they discovered are now
brought together with the marvelous pictures that in 1900 first
established the reputation of one of the greatest children's
illustrators of all time, Arthur Rackham.
作者简介
The Brothers Grimm, Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859),
were born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, in the German state of Hesse.
Throughout their lives they remained close friends, and both
studied law at Marburg University. Jacob was a pioneer in the study
of German philology, and although Wilhelm's work was hampered by
poor health the brothers collaborated in the creation of a German
dictionary, not completed until a century after their deaths. But
they were best (and universally) known for the collection of over
two hundred folk tales they made from oral sources and published in
two volumes of 'Nursery and Household Tales' in 1812 and 1814.
Although their intention was to preserve such material as part of
German cultural and literary history, and their collection was
first published with scholarly notes and no illustration, the tales
soon came into the possession of young readers. This was in part
due to Edgar Taylor, who made the first English translation in
1823, selecting about fifty stories 'with the amusement of some
young friends principally in view'. They have been an essential
ingredient of children's reading ever since.