Product Description

L. Owens, ed. Presents all 215 stories recorded by the Brothers Grimm, many not available elsewhere, illustrated by renowned artists. Includes such timeless favorites as Cinderella, Rapunzel, and The Frog Prince. A delight for young and old alike. 100 b&w illustrations. 704 pages.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #394150 in Books
• Published on: 1993-05-09
• Released on: 1993-05-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 704 pages

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

From the Inside Flap
L. Owens, ed. Presents all 215 stories recorded by the Brothers Grimm, many not available elsewhere, illustrated by renowned artists. Includes such timeless favorites as Cinderella, Rapunzel, and The Frog Prince. A delight for young and old alike. 100 b&w illustrations. 704 pages.

Customer Reviews

Not a very good edition
Regarding the fairy tales: The Grimm brothers collected fairy tales from all over the Germanies and published the collected stories in 1812. Historically and culturally this is very important because we have a glimpse into an oral tradition back when oral tradition was alive and well. Many are surprised to find that the stories aren't Disney rated. They have gore and all.

Regarding this particular release of the Grimm Fairy Tales: The paper is bad quality. I have the 1981 edition and the pages are already very very yellow. The illustrations are in many different styles by four different artists. They aren't bad, but given the presentation and the fact that they are a mixed bag they come across that way. The translation by Margaret Hunt was originally published in 1884, and the language feels a little stale today.

This is an adequate copy of the text if you just want to read through it. It isn't durable, it isn't archival and it isn't good quality paper or presentation. These stories have been around long enough that they are now public domain and can be found for free in many locations online, if you just want to check out the original Grimm version of a story. (Paper is easier on the eyes, so there is a place for a poor quality widely available edition.) Libraries will want a more durable edition. Yep a better quality edition is a good idea for families too.

bad, bad, bad
Who published these weak translations? Yup, they are on newsprint and get smudged immediately. How about using real paper? B&N needs to stop thinking opportunistically and start thinking about quality.

OKAY STORIES, OKAY COPY
Not all the stories in this book are winners, and you can take a LONG time reading all of them. For the longest time I'd been hearing that Disney's version of these Grimm classics are much cleaner. No kidding. But being a hardcore fantasy reader, I like all the violence and dark senses of humor that the Grimm brothers have. Generally, for every 10 stories you read, you might find two that you like and one that you REALLY like. As for the actual book, the pages are apparently NOT acid-free, which means that it was cheaply made. It is still hardback, though. I'm not a HUGE Grimm fan, but there were enough illustrations for my taste. Along the same lines, I don't care if the works are out of order--what matters is that they're translated decently. I still hold that there is--somewhere--a better Grimm's book to be found--hence the 3 stars. Apart from all that, this is a good bargain bin book--which is where I found it. My favorite stories--so far--are The Frog Prince, Cinderella, The Three White Snakes, and The Youth Who Could Not Shiver and Shake.