Cinderella, Snow White, Briar Rose (aka Sleeping Beauty), Rumplestiltskin, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel–these are just a few of the countless characters Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm made famous in their collected works known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

Young Adult Mag: The world of fantasy literature owes you endless thanks.

Jacob Grimm: Thank you, that’s very kind.

YA: Tell us a bit about how you got started.

Wilhelm Grimm: My brother and I studied medieval German literature at university.  Through these studies we became very interested in history and philosophy.

JG: We were always in the company of learned men.  We both eventually became librarians, which is when we started to publish our collections.

YA: When did you first publish your first volume of stories?

WG: In 1812.  Although that version was not well received as a collection of children’s stories.

YA: Why is that?

WG: Because the stories we studied and adapted were at times very shocking!  And we wanted to be true to our culture and our history.

YA: What’s a lesser known Grimm’s Fairy Tale that we should know about?

JG: I don’t believe “King Thrushbeard” is commonly known.  It’s a tale of a scornful princess who learns humility by marrying a man below her station.

YA: What do you think about the contemporary television programs Once Upon a Time?  The creators of that program have woven together many of your classic tales.

WG: I think it’s interesting to think of all our characters existing together in the same place and time.  I think a lot of our characters would have been allies, just as they are on the program.