Grimm's Household Tales are the most famous and enchanting collection of fairytales ever written down and published. For the past two centuries these delightful stories, gathered together by two of Germany's leading academics, have entertained and frightened children and adults alike. The lives of Tom Thumb, Cinderella, Rumplestiltskin and the Frog Prince form part of our common heritage: they stimulate the imagination and the heart, and linger at the back of our minds for a lifetime. They are funny, disturbing, wise and compassionate. They speak of joy and terror, happiness and revenge, love and violence. Arthur Rackham's masterly illustrations have all been hand-coloured by Barbara Frith, one of Britain's leading colourists.