Shakespeare, Dickens, cannabalistic serial killers and talking birds all make an appearance in this week's twisted episode 'The Robber Bridegroom' as voted for by our wonderful listeners! Yet another miller has promised his daughter away to a mysterious, handsome suitor. But our bride is filled with horror at the thought of him and only after much cajoling does she reluctantly agrees to visit his house in the deep dark woods. Standing on the threshold of the forest, a trail of ash leads the way ...
Sep 03, 2018•42 min
A triple whammy of Grimm fun this week as we reveal the results of our listener poll, dip our toes in the academic world of folklore and perhaps even read a couple of stories... You've been voting and we've been counting; It's been a head to head between Elves & the Shoemaker, Rapunzel and The Robber Bridegroom - but which will emege victorious? After revealing the results, we then dive into the Aarne Thompson Uther Classification of Folktales, exploring how folktales are categorised and the hid...
Aug 27, 2018•40 min
Three poor brothers hit the forest to seek their fortune, but can earthly riches mend a broken heart? A magical wishing cloth gives one brother the power to offer a selection of meats which help him rob his way to power and world domination. But his ascension is threatened when a beautiful, brave and judgemental Princess discovers his secret. We go on an adventure filled with magic, war, love, loss and dirty charcoal burners. We also recount a bizarre Danish version of the tale and finally we ch...
Aug 20, 2018•41 min
An unusual choice for Godfather changes the fate of one man's life forever, or does it? Things get fatalistic, subversive and skeletal in this week's episode: 'Godfather Death'. We explore the meaning of the story, alternative versions, folk medicine recipies and briefly examine the history of the personification of death in western culture. And of course we finally meet Death himself, the latest and most withered character in the franchise. And just maybe, we have our first big scoring divergen...
Aug 12, 2018•29 min
“If I could but shudder!” With nothing more than his good looks and a fifty dollar donation, a banished youth goes on an adventure to learn the art of fear in ‘The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth To Learn What Fear Was'. Facing demonic cats, maniacal old men and an evening of bowling with skeletons, can our hero survive three nights in a haunted castle and win the princess? We explore what it means to feel fear and uncover a bad case of ichthyophobia, in undoubtedly the most gruesome and also ...
Aug 05, 2018•48 min
This week on Grimm Reading we read, review and explore one of the best known Brothers Grimm stories: Rumpelstiltskin. Yet another miller has accidentally promised his daughter away. This time to a greedy king who mistakenly believes she can spin straw into gold. Can our maiden find a way to achieve the impossible? And will... Ah, you know the story. We explore the origins of the famous little man, assess popular interpretations, make a few of our own and take a look at other versions of the tale...
Jul 22, 2018•40 min
Eat, sleep or work? A simple deliberation leaves Elsie in the throes of a physco-philosophical breakdown on this week's episode 'Clever Elsie'. Hans needs a wife and goes a-wooing, but there's one condition - she's got to be clever. Will Elsie be enough? And just what exactly is a fowler's net? On Grimm Reading this week, we learn all this and more as we explore one of the least known tales and discover our new favourite American golfer. Twitter Facebook Instagram [email protected] T...
Jul 15, 2018•27 min
In 'Cat and Mouse in Partnership', sheer force of love sees a cat and mouse overcome their natural differences and set up house together. But winter is coming, and the mouse is growing suspicious at the unreasonable amount of christening invitations the cat's receiving... In this story, learn why all people are innately greedy, selfish and just nasty. Or perhaps maybe it's just a few cats. We also explore other tales of the (spoiler) 'partner steals keg of butter' narrative type from Norway, Sco...
Jul 01, 2018•24 min
In this week’s tale 'The Louse and the Flea’ we’ve unexpectedly unearthed the most intense story on Grimm Reading so far. BFFs little Louse and little Flea are happily living together making artisanal craft ale in egg shells when tragedy strikes. Things escalate quickly as the neighbours hear of their terrible misfortune. Buckle up and prepare for a wild ride as we learn the principles of chaos theory, the importance of empathy and why you ought to rein it in when in mourning. We briefly introdu...
Jun 24, 2018•24 min
This week on Grimm Reading we meet Germany's finest animal supergroup: 'The Bremen Town Musicians'. Fearing for his life, a lute playing donkey escapes his owner and hits the road to Bremen. On route he forms a band with a hound, a cat and a cock, and plans for a string of tour dates begin to form. Getting closer to Bremen they spy a cottage and head over to investigate. But little do our musicians know, it's occupied by a gang of nasty robbers... This cult favourite Grimm tale has inspired arti...
Jun 17, 2018•26 min
This week on Grimm Reading we meet our first Big Bad Wolf in 'The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids'. A mother goat inexplicably leaves her seven kids all alone at home. Can her peculiarly specific survival advice keep the wolf from the door, literally? Find out what bakers get up to with left over dough, an unexpected use for chalk and learn why miller's are so cowardly. We also discuss the similarities with this story and it's cousin across the channel, The Three Little Pigs, and in a final twist...
Jun 10, 2018•30 min
In this week's tale the Brother's Grimm meets Marvel in the epic caper 'How Six Men Got On In The World'. Despite his superb behaviour, upon returning from war, a budding Art Historian gets mistreated by the realm. On his way to find the king and justice he meets an unlikely band of rogues, each with a unique special ability... Discover the ultimate origin story in an early imagining of the Marvel cinematic Universe and the very first iteration of Avengers Assemble, complete with an epic final b...
Jun 03, 2018•24 min
Things get pious in this episode of Grimm Reading. The devil makes his debut and a father gives the ultimate lesson in bad parenting. In the Girl Without Hands a god-fearing heroine finds herself married to royalty, but a pesky war calls away her husband and the devil seizes his chance to make mischief. Can the power of prayer and extreme fasting prevail in the face of evil? This episode is 'Certified Grimm' for extreme cruelty and excessive violence and may not be suitable for children or the f...
May 27, 2018•38 min
Elves, Princesses, Kings, evil stepmothers, magic, defenestration and strawberries – we are finally in full-on fairytale territory! The daughter of a man with serious boot problems gets on the wrong side of her stepmother and finds herself picking strawberries in winter in a paper frock. But deep in the woods three peculiar little gentlemen come to her aid with three generous gifts... Find out why it pays to be beautiful and also the best way to rinse yarn as things get fantastical and trippy in...
May 20, 2018•34 min
This week we follow the adventures of adrenaline junkie Thumbling as he meets some disreputable types, briefly falls into a life of crime, and has some unfortunate dealings with hungry animals. Hang about, is this not the Tom Thumb we know and love? We explain the difference between Tom Thumb and Thumbling and other little man European legends, and even recount the story of Tom Thumb himself. And finally we pick the next three stories we'll be exploring. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpo...
May 17, 2018•4 sec
A special episode this week, as we explore the history and evolution of the works of the Brothers Grimm, as well as delving into the confusing world of the various English translations of this frightfully delightful collection of fairy tales. Twitter Facebook Instagram [email protected]...
May 06, 2018•21 min
Domestic bliss has been established in a certain household where everyone has just the right job. What could possibly go wrong? Things get moralistic in this episode of Grimm Reading as we dive into the fable of The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage. Some good old fashioned values and questionable gender politics inform the story line and we definitively learn to not let sausages go into the woods alone. We also unveil the 'Certified Grimm' rating system, whereby in future episodes we'll be able t...
Apr 29, 2018•16 min
Welcome to the first ever episode of Grimm Reading! We kick off proceedings with two Brothers Grimm tales: Hans in Luck and Old Sultan. When is a pig a trifle? And just exactly what is a clock? We learn this and so much more as we join the imperturbable Hans on his journey home to his mother. In our second story we join Sultan, the shepherd's toothless old dog, as he does his level best to avoid being permanently retired with the help of a wily cat. This is the start of a journey into the world ...
Apr 22, 2018•37 min
