Clever Maids by Valerie Paradiz
The real story of how the Grimm fairy tales came to be written. }The famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm - stories like Snow White , Red Riding Hood , and Rumplestiltskin - are know to millions of people around the world and are deeply embedded in the collective psyche. In this charming account, writer and scholar Valerie Paradiz reveals the true story of how the fairy tales came to be. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, collectors and editors of more than 200 folk stories, were major German intellects of the nineteenth century, contemporaries of Goethe and Schiller. But as Paradiz? reveals here, the romantic image of the two brothers traveling the countryside, transcribing tales told to them by peasants, is a far cry from the truth. In fact, more than half the fairy tales the Grimm brothers collected were actually contributed by their educated female friends from the bourgeois and aristocratic classes. While German folkloric scholars-all of them male-fancied themselves the keepers of the cultural flame, it was a handful of women who ensured that millions would know the stories of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella by heart. Set against the backdrop of the chaotic Napoleonic wars and the years of high German romanticism, Clever Maids chronicles one of the most fascinating literary collaborations in European history and brilliantly captures the intellectual spirit of the men and women of the age. Even more, it illuminates the ways in which the Grimm tales, with their mythic portrayals of courage, sacrifice, and betrayal, still speak so powerfully to us today. }
Valerie Paradiz holds a Ph.D. in German Literature from City University of New York and has taught German and writing at Bard College, Brooklyn College, and the State University of New York, New Paltz. She is the co-founder and director of ASPIE, the School for Autistic Strength, Purpose and Independence in Education and sits on the Board of Directors of GRASP, the Global Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780738209173 |
| ISBN 10 | 0738209171 |
| Title | Clever Maids |
| Author | Valerie Paradiz |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Basic Books |
| Year published | 2005-01-02 |
| Number of pages | 240 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |