Grimm Reading

Happy Grimm new year! We’re kicking things off with a surprise story – the one and only Puss in Boots.  When the family cat suddenly demands a pair of boots, a poor young miller spends his last few coins granting the cat's wish. A idiotic whim or the investment of a lifetime? Join us on the classic adventure of Puss in Boots, where we see our furry hero outsmarting, outwitting and outdressing everyone who comes in his path! We then hear about the many guises of puss in boots from the global oral folk tradition, before embarking on a trip through the canals of time as we see 'Her Pussyship' develop as a literary character, from late-medieval Venice to Antonio Banderas. Finally, we reveal the results of our last story poll and launch the first poll of 2021. Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Liszt's 2 Waltzes S.126b 1 and 2  performed by Mauro Tortorelli // Leroy Anderson's The Waltzing Cat performed by Markus Sta

Join us for the third annual Grimm Reading Christmas Party! We've got gifts, port, cracker jokes and festive fare for all, before Adam reads us the truly epic Irish fairy tale 'The Christmas Cuckoo'. And finally, we reveal the winner of our competition and some plans for next year. Thank you so much to everyone for listening, messaging, and supporting us in various ways - especially our wonderful patrons. And thanks to Pook Press for collaborating with us for the 2020 competition. You can join us for more Christmas fun in the fable stable podcast, otherwise stay safe and we'll see you in the new year. Keep it Grimm! Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko (+ sleigh bells) Other Music: Tchaikovsky's "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker Suite Performed by Gabriel Antonio Hernandez Romero on Piano // Tchaikovsky's "The Magical Castle in the Kingdom of Sweets" and "The Christmas Tree" from The Nutcracker Suite - from th

A magic well, a prickly spindle, talking bread, and snowy beds - this week’s tale is our latest patron story poll winner, Mother Holle (Frau Holle)! An evil step-mother and wicked step-sister force a young maiden into a parallel universe. When she reaches an enchanting cottage, she finds a scary old lady waiting. Will she pass the test of Mother Holle? And what will her nasty family do if she returns? After this festive tale, we hear from German listeners about what Mother Holle means to them to today, and we trace Holle’s origins all the way to her ancient roots as a pagan goddess. Our competition is still in full swing too! Let us know which story you think deserves a different score and you could win some awesome prizes! Story leaderboard: https://grimmreading.podbean.com/p/2020-competition-story-scores/  Pook Press bookshop: http://ow.ly/7VRY50Bau0z  Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Vivaldi's Four Season

In Jorinda and Joringel, young love is cruelly interrupted when an evil witch kidnaps Jorinda, forcing Joringel into a lonely shepherding career. But will a prophetic dream provide him with the means to rescue his beloved from the witch's castle, or is Jorinda doomed forever? Join us as we tumble down rabbit holes, exploring ancient myths, sad birds, and vampires.  Our competition is still in full swing too! Let us know which story you think deserves a different score and you could win some awesome prizes! Story leaderboard: https://grimmreading.podbean.com/p/2020-competition-story-scores/  Pook Press bookshop: http://ow.ly/7VRY50Bau0z  Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 1st, 2nd and 3rd movements performed by Debbie Hu 

In Fitcher's Bird (aka Fowler's Fowl), we join an evil wizard as he kidnaps pretty girls, takes them to his fancy pad, and puts them to the test. But this sick sorcerer get's more than he bargained for with our plucky, clucky, and crafty heroine.  We talk serial killing folklore, egg metaphors, and finally dip our toes into the creepy world of the infamous Bluebeard! This episode is certified Grimm and may not be suitable for all listeners. Our competition is still in full swing too! Let us know which story you think deserves a different score and you could win some awesome prizes! Story leaderboard: https://grimmreading.podbean.com/p/2020-competition-story-scores/  Pook Press bookshop: http://ow.ly/7VRY50Bau0z  Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Beethoven's sonata for violin and piano No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2, Finale, performed by Corey Cerovsek (violin) and Paavali Jumppanen (piano) // Jules Massenet's

A long time in the making, we are delighted to present our super special biography of the Brothers Grimm!
 From humble beginnings to super professor stardom, we follow the brothers as they traipse across Germany in a tumultuous time of war and instability. Please don your history hats and settle by the fire as we embark on our biggest adventure yet, somehow starting in ancient Rome and landing squarely in 21st century.  Chapter index: Once Upon a Time (04:08) University and the Magic Horn (14:24) Occupation and Fairy Tales (19:16) German Liberation (28:43) Peace and Publishing (36:15) Gottingen and Exile (47:21) Berlin and a Dictionary (55:24) For more information on some of the topics covered, we couldn’t recommend these podcasts more highly: Rex Factor, Totalus Rankium, Pontifacts, and The History of English Podcast. Our competition is still in full swing! Let us know which story you think deserves a different score and you could win some awesome prizes! Story leaderboard: https://bit.ly/3j7S3W7 

After a princess insults her suitors, her angry father forces her marry a singing fiddler and she's plunged into a life of poverty. But will their new crockery start-up save them from hunger and plight? And how many plot holes can a story have before it stops making sense? Find out in our latest tale King Thrushbeard, where we learn why princesses need to do what they're told, which bird has the most crooked beak, and what exactly Shakespeare and Henry VIII have to do with it all. Our competition is still in full swing too! Let us know which story you think deserves a different score and you could win some awesome prizes! Story leaderboard: https://grimmreading.podbean.com/p/2020-competition-story-scores/  Pook Press bookshop: http://ow.ly/7VRY50Bau0z  Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Brahms' “Rhapsody in B minor” - Op. 79 No. 1 performed by Muriel Nguyen Xuan // Brahms' Schicksalslied, Op. 54 performed by MIT

We’re back for series 3! When a petulant princess loses her golden ball, an overly friendly frog comes to the rescue. But when he tries to hop in her bed the princess has other ideas. Another classic story brought to you by Grimm Reading, but this is not the tale you think you know! Who is iron Henry? Why isn’t he the frog prince? And where is that famous froggy kiss? Discover the answers to all this and more, in our opening episode The Frog King. We’ve also launched a competition!  Here’s our story leaderboard: https://grimmreading.podbean.com/p/2020-competition-story-scores/ And you can sign up to Pook Press's newsletter and see their bookshop here: http://ow.ly/7VRY50Bau0z  And here's a link to the Jingle Bells video Adam mentioned: https://bit.ly/3i7uLPF  Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Chopin's Opus 32 No. 2 in A flat Major performed by Willem Wim // Chopin's Etude Op. 10, no. 8 in F major // Debussy's C

  Evil curses, dangerous spinning, long lie-ins, and daring princes – in our series two finale we tackle one of fiction’s most enduring stories: The Sleeping Beauty (or Briar Rose). A spurned wise woman puts a castle to sleep for a hundred years. Many princes have tried to breach its wall of thorns but none have ever succeeded. Has the time finally come for the right man to lift the curse? We discuss prudish victorians, fatalism, and creepy frogs, before finally venturing on an epic journey to trace the evolution of Sleeping Beauty from viking Iceland to Walt Disney. Thank you so much to everyone who’s stuck with us on this journey, we’ve had a blast this series and can’t wait to join you back at Grimm Castle later in the year for series 3. Until then, stay safe and keep it grimm. This episode is “Certified Grimm” for adult content, and may not be suitable for all listeners. Twitter   Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music:

  Taboos abound in this week's episode, Thousandfurs, where things take a decidedly dark turn. On her deathbed, a queen makes an ill-judged demand of her husband, and he decides to marry his own daughter. Escaping into the woods, the princess is captured and put to work in a castle kitchen. But she sees the chance of salvation when the king of this castle throws an elaborate festival...   After the story, we look into sparkly dresses and Germanic spinning courtship rituals, before turning our attention to the elephant in the room - incest, and it's place in folklore and myth. Finally, we hear the jaw-droppingly twisted Italian version of this fairy tale: She-Bear.  This episode is Certified Grimm and may not be suitable for all listeners.   Twitter   Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Brahms' Symphony No. 4 - Allegro non troppo, Op. 98 performed by New York Philharmonic Orchestra // Brahms' String Sextet No. 1, Op. 18 pe

Welcome to Extra Grimm, where we delve deeper into the world of the Brothers Grimm for the curious.  In this episode, we chat to fairy tale expert Maria Tatar about all things Grimm. Maria is a Harvard professor specialising in folklore, myth and germanic literature, and she's the author of several books on fairy tales including her new book "The Fairest of Them All: Snow White and 21 Tales of Mothers and Daughters". Topics covered include such classics as sexism in fairy tales, how to read these stories to children, the monogenesis vs. polygenesis debate, why the Grimms had such a big impact, and much more besides - even Quentin Tarantino pops up at one point. When lockdown engulfed the world we wanted to try something a little different. Having read her brilliant book "The Hard Facts Of The Brothers Grimm", we thought it would be amazing to hear directly from Maria about the Brothers Grimm and fairy tales. We hope you enjoy this eye-opening chat. You can find Maria on Twitter @mariamtatar Twitter Face

In The Three Languages, a Swiss boy narrowly escapes execution at the hands of his father. With nothing but an expanded linguist repertoire, he sets out to make his way in the world. Will he survive an angry pack of spectral dogs? And will he heed the call of a frog’s prophecy? After the story, things get intellectually rigorous as Adam is presented with three theories as to what’s going on: an historical interpretation of the tale, a Romantic interpretation, and a psychological one. Finally we pick the next stories we’ll be reading and reveal the result of our Patreon story poll. This is our first remote recording and unfortunately the quality isn’t super high. We’ve fixed it now and future recordings will be up better quality! We are also delighted to present our first ever podcast collaboration with the wonderful Pontifacts! They make a special guest appearance and provide fascinating historical information for us to mull on. Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Them

A magical fish, a boy dressed as a bear, and a nosy father in law all make an appearance in this week’s episode: The Gold Children. After the story, discover how this largely unknown tale is connected to a tale from the Neapolitan Pentamarone, as well as to a German marketing agency and a heavy metal band. Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Schubert's Violin Sonata in A major Op. 162  performed by Oliver Colbentson // Ravel's Miroirs - III. Une barque sur l'ocean performed by Robert Ewen Birchall

When two clumsy children fall down a well, a Water Nixie forces them to do unpleasant chores for her. Will they ever get out? And how will a hairbrush and slippery mirror come to their aid? Find out in the shortest story we’ve ever read: The Water Nixie. After the tale, we present a mental-somersault of a theory on what the story could mean, before being taken on a journey by Jacob Grimm into the history of Nix and Nixies. We then read out correspondence on sexism in fairy tales and our story Sweetheart Roland by some surprising contributors. Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Debussy's Reflets dans l'eau ("Reflections in the Water") performed by Jacopo Salvatori // Debussy's Ondine ("The Water Sprite"), Preludes Livre 2, performed by Ivan Ilić 

In The Dog And The Sparrow, a callous waggoner gets his comeuppance after he destroys a blossoming friendship between a dog and a sparrow. Learn why you should never mess with sparrows, how bad deeds don't go unpunished, and where Alfred Hitchcock got inspiration for his masterpiece 'The Birds'. We also hear what Shakespeare, the bible, and Chaucer have to say about these common little birds, and finish with the incredible Japanese story 'The Tongue-Cut Sparrow'. Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op.34 by Johannes Brahms, Performed by Le Quatuor Hongrois // Piano Quartet No.1, Op.25 by Johannes Brahms, Performed by Musicians from Ravinia's Steans Music Institute

In The Thief and His Master, an unholy priest prank leads one boy on an unforgettable journey where he learns the dual arts of thievery and shapeshifting. However, things turn south when his master doesn't receive his desired pay. After the Story, we discuss thievery in fairy tales and explore two related stories: the original Venetian version by Straparola and the myth of the Welsh witch Ceridwen.  Finally we choose the next three stories and reveal the winning tale from our Patreon poll! Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Camille Saint-Saëns's Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33 - I. Allegro non troppo // Schubert's Sonata in B Flat Major, D. 960 - IV. Allegro ma non troppo performed by Paul Pittman

In Jacob Grimm's official favourite story, a jealous fox puts his wife to the test by playing dead. But will any of her new suitors hold a candle to her late husband's attributes? As their family cat servant tries to control the ensuing mayhem, we get an impromptu crash course in butter beer and bread milk making. Find out how this strange story taps into a world of suppression in occupied Napoleonic Germany, why it doesn't pay to indulge your jealousy, and what someone called Wooden Johannes has to do with it all. What at first appears as nothing more than a wacky story, gets right to the heart of debates on fairy tales and crosses continents in an explosive meeting of east and west. Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Johannes Brahms' Piano Trio No.1 Op.8 Performed by Claremont Trio // Johannes Brahms' Piano Sonata No.1 Op.1 Finale. Allegro Con Fuoco Performed by Peter Bradley-Fulgoni  

In Gambling Hansel, an anti-hero with a chronic gambling addiction has dangerous run ins with Luficier, God, St. Peter, and our old friend Death. In what we’re calling 'Hansel and Gretel Part II', Hansel threatens to destabilize heaven itself with the aid of loaded dice, a troupe of demons, and a magical tree. Will he win his battle against celestial deities? Or will his dark-side prove his downfall. After the story, we interrogate the surprising conclusions of a linguistic paper on emotional text analysis, before checking back in with Death and hearing the world’s oldest tale about cheating the afterlife. Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Beethoven's Piano Trio No7 in B-flat Major Op97 // Chopin’s Nocturne in B flat minor, Op. 9 no. 1.2

  In our final adventure of the cock and hen trilogy, things go south fast for the incurable rascals and Chanticleer is soon faced with a life without Partlet. Can he ever move on? And will the beasts of the forest ever make it to the funeral?   Meet some old friends, find out the true meaning behind the trilogy, and discover what two murderous chickens have to do with The 12 days of Christmas, in this week's episode: The Death of the Little Hen. Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Johannes Brahms' Clarinet Quintet Op. 115 Performed by William McColl and the Oxford String Quartet

Despite the machinations of an evil king, a prophecy sees a cocky luck child marry the princess. But his happily ever after is cut short when he is forced to embark on an epic quest that will take him to the very depths of hell, and into the dress of the devil’s grandma… In our first ever Patron chosen story, we embark on one of our biggest adventures yet, where we meet confused city guards, soft-hearted robbers and even some good millers. We then try to pick apart this extremely dense tale and find ourselves chatting about everything from ancient Greek funerary rites to Jack and the Bean Stalk and Star Wars. Happy new year Grimm Readers! We hope you enjoy The Devil With The Three Golden Hairs as much as we did.

 Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music: Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor 'Lento con gran espressione', B. 49 performed by Aaron Dunn // Chopin’s Étude Op. 10, no. 5 in G flat major - 'Black Keys' performed b