麻豆社

When the Grimm brothers first published their Children's and Household Tales in 1812, in a scholarly effort to collate a national identity of the people, it was the beginning of an obsessive project of two intricately interwoven lifetimes.

To mark the bicentenary of the first edition, writer and mythographer Marina Warner explores the many compelling and often controversial aspects of the tales in a 10-part series, revealing new insights into the stories we think we know so well, and introducing us to the charms and challenges of those that we don't.

Alongside beautifully narrated extracts from the tales themselves, renowned academics and artists who work closely with the Grimm's rich heritage add to our understanding of these deceptively complex stories.

In the opening episode, we are introduced to the Grimm brothers themselves and the context in which they collected these tales, in parallel with the story of The Frog King - a tale of transformation and sexual favour that has opened the collection since it was first published and has played a central role in the Romantic attraction to the tradition of Volkspoesie.

Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for 麻豆社 Radio 4.