Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm have a worldwide reputation of being the original authors of the definitive versions of many classic fairy tales. This misconception brushes over hundreds of fairy tale variants, many with earlier oral origins, and overlooks the significant changes made to the tales throughout decades of publication.

Grimm Variations is a collection of fairy tales as well as four essays that analyze the different historical contexts and literary implications of four well-known Brothers Grimm fairy tales with their corresponding historical or regional variants. The analyses pry into the impact of authorial intent, characterization, and theme in the Grimm versions of “Little Red Cap,” “Little Snow-White,” “Cinderella,” and “Rapunzel” when compared to their eclectic variants, “The Story of Grandmother,” “The Crystal Casket,” “Donkey Skin,” and “Petrosinella.” The dozens of illustrations within are digital ink and watercolor, and dramatically highlight plot elements of the fairy tales and thematic focuses of the essays. The strategically minimal use of stark red in the illustrations draws attention to the
violence often found in these tales. “True” versions of stories don’t exist, but their differences are compelling.