Fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen was keen to meet the brothers who had influenced his own work. He called on the Grimm brothers in Berlin without a letter of introduction, thinking that he would be known to them. But Jacob did not know of him and was unfamiliar with his stories. Disillusioned Andersen departed without meeting Wilhelm. [1]
Wilhelm Grimm, born on 24 February 1786, in Hanau, Germany, was one half of the famous Brothers Grimm, renowned for their collection of fairy tales that have become timeless classics. Wilhelm was the second son of Philipp Wilhelm Grimm, a lawyer, and Dorothea Grimm. His older brother, Jacob Grimm, born a year earlier, would later collaborate closely with him in their literary endeavours.
Wilhelm and Jacob were devoted brothers, sharing a study as students, sharing their books, and for most of their lives living under the same roof. They lived through challenging times, marked by financial difficulties and the death of their father in 1796.
The brothers’ maternal grandmother played a significant role in their upbringing after their parents’ passing. It was during their university years that the brothers developed a passion for collecting and preserving traditional folktales.
Wilhelm had delicate health, after a long and severe illness in his childhood, so was less energetic than his brother. He loved music and was a wonderful story-teller. Both brothers became academics, researchers, lexicographers, linguists, and authors, and together they collected folk tales that were in danger of being lost by never having been written down.
In 1825, 39-year-old Wilhelm married pharmacist’s daughter Henriette Dorothea Wild, also known as Dortchen. Wilhelm’s marriage did not change the harmony of the brothers and they all lived together in the same house.
Wilhelm, with his linguistic expertise, played a crucial role in the compilation and editing of the tales after Jacob had found them. The brothers collected traditional German folk tales, publishing their first volume, Children and Household Tales, in 1812 which contained 86 stories. Stories were added and removed from one edition to the next, until the seventh edition, published in 1857, held 210 tales. Some later editions were illustrated.
Wilhelm’s life was characterized by a deep commitment to preserving the cultural heritage of Germany through folklore and linguistic studies. Wilhelm Grimm died on 16 December 1859 at age 73.
Selected links for relevant websites, books, movies, videos, and more. Some of these links lead to protected content on this website, learn more about that here.
The Brothers Grimm Biography
The complete fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm
The Publication of Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Susannah Fullerton: Jacob Grimm is born
Susannah Fullerton: Grimm’s Fairy Tales is first published
Susannah Fullerton: Little Red Riding Hood by The Brothers Grimm
Susannah Fullerton: The Bros Grimm publish the first part of a dictionary
The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm