Grimm Reading

When a farmer grows a giant turnip and is rewarded by the king, his jealous brother plots to murder him. How will he escape his assassins? And does the titular turnip have anything to do with the plot? Find out in this episode, where we read The Turnip by the Brothers Grimm! After the story, we're led across a world of culture - from Pulp Fiction to Serbian hip-hop to the UK's obsession with giant...

Reynard is back in action and using his wits for good, unless you're a lion... When an old horse is abandoned by its owner and given an impossible task, Raynard the fox summons all his wiles in aid of the horse's plight.  After the story, we explore several other fables of foxes and horses, taking us from the summit of French high literature to a humble stable in the Isle of Skye, Scotland, to see...

Can a charlatan doctor solve a case of missing money? Join us for this week's story Dr Know-All, which somehow features crabs, an ABC book, a man in a stove, and some spectacular failing upwards... This spins out into a discussion of other similar stories from around the world, culminating in the medieval Indian tale of Harrisaman (FKA Froggie)... ... Linktree Patreon Merch Store Instagram Twitter...

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s a squadron of flying gnomes. Join us for this week’s story The Gnome - a tale of brotherly betrayal, multi-headed dragons, magic flutes, and cheeky little helpers. After the story, we have a short history of gnomes, from Roman smut to Pink Floyd and beyond... ... Linktree Patreon Merch Store Instagram Twitter/X Facebook grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme musi...

Merry Christmas to one and all! Join us for another end of year party at Grimm Castle, where we delve deep into The Nutcracker And The Mouse King, almost completely losing our minds. We then sober up with a special surprise short story, featuring some unlikely characters… So join us for a cracker, a mince pie, spiced wine, gifts, and merriment a-plenty at this year’s Grimm Reading Christmas party....

For one last time, the Devil's grandma is back. After three soldiers desert the army, they make a bargain with the Devil for their souls. After seven fun-filled years, the Devil arrives to claim his debt. But perhaps Grandma can offer our unlikely heroes a helping hand... Riddles, dragons and magic whips - join us for The Devil And His Grandmother. We also talk dragons in the bible, and explore th...

In this interview episode, we talk to author and poet Clare Pollard about her latest novel: The Modern Fairies. Set in the Paris and Versailles of Louis the XIV, the novel drops us into the heart of Madame D’Alnouy’s illustrious, raucous, and radical salon. It's "Disney meets Dangerous Liaisons" and a brilliant, cosy read. We talk to Clare about fairy tales, writing, salons, audiobooks and plenty...

Adam's Christmas comes early as we find ourselves in an enchanted cat castle in this week's Grimm story.  When an old miller challenges his apprentices to find the best horse, one befriends a cat who promises to help. But is she more than she seems? After the story, we find ourselves in early-modern Paris where we meet fairy tale behemoth Madame D'Aulnouy. We hear of her extraordinary life as well...

We take on Donkey Cabbages - one of the most bizarre and barmy tales we've heard in a while. Not only do we get witches, giants and magic clouds, we also discover a new concept - the minimal counterintuitive hypothesis. What makes a story stick? Some scientists think they've found the answer... We then briefly look at man-donkeys in storytelling, say hi to Shakespeare, and meet the long-forgotten...

It’s getting spooky in the castle as we read Baba Yaga and the Brave Youth.   Will our hero escape the clutches of our favourite Slavic witch? Why does Baba Yaga love spoons so much? And has she secretly been a mother all along?   Join us round the fire to find out all this and more. Happy Halloween everyone!   Linktree Patreon Merch Store Instagram Twitter/X Facebook grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com...

We’re back with a brand new series and a brand new volume of tales... And we begin with The Four Skillful Brothers, a story of masterly thievery, improbable astronomy, dastardly dragons, and a man who sews up eggs. After the story, we explore its origins before doing a deep dive on dragons: including the history of rescuing princesses from dragons in storytelling, and a patriotic stretch where we...

We have our winner! Step on into the castle for a glitzy awards night where we reveal the Grimmbledon champion, as well as the results of the Special Awards. Thank you so much to everyone who's listened and taken part. We're away now for the rest of the summer. Click here to pick up a copy of our special Aladdin episode to see you through the hot (northern) summer days, otherwise we'll meet again...

Find out which four stories survived the Semi-Finals and made it to the finals! Voting for the final is live right now. Cast your vote here: https://forms.gle/xkvy8aVEd9EH4qkT9   Or visit www.grimmreading.wordpress.com/final In the episode, we also read out voters' comments with their reasoning for their choices. And we launch a final Special Awards Poll. It's all go here as we ramp up for the fin...

The time has arrived to finish off the Grimms’ Children’s Legends, and in this episode we hear the four remaining stories: The Twelve Apostles, Poverty And Humility Lead to Heaven, The Heavenly Wedding, and The Hazel Branch. We again do our best to parse the piety and manage the misery, and rate them out of 10. Still one day left to vote in Semi-Final 2. Link here: https://forms.gle/TjJnhyuZ3uVKEv...

It's the second (and last) of the Semi-Finals. Re-discover the sweeping and strange histories of the four competing stories and then cast your vote!  Semi-Final 2 voting link: https://forms.gle/TjJnhyuZ3uVKEvrRA Battling it out are the tales: The Two Brothers The Valiant Little Tailor The Fisherman And His Wife The Elves And The Shoemaker The top two tales from the poll will secure themselves a pl...

It's the first of the two Grimmbledon Semi-Finals, where four of the stories that survived the Group Stage are battling it out for a place in the Grand Final... Semi-Final 1 voting poll link: https://forms.gle/DeeZ9bpmxsMUFDJ86 After recapping the stories in the Group Stage, this episode we delve a little deeper into some background information, ATU types, and related tales, to help inform your de...

Twenty Grimm stories have fought it out in the Group Stages, but only eight have made it through to the Semi-Finals... Find out which tales got the most public votes and secured their spot!  Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other Music:  Beethoven's Sonata No. 8 in C Minor Pathétique, Op. 13 - III. Rondo - Allegro 1

This time we take on the Grimms’ Children’s Legends, including the stories: The Three Green Twigs, God’s Food, The Aged Woman, and The Rose. We do our best to make sense of the misery and rate them out of 10. Still one day left to vote in Group D. Link here: https://forms.gle/BJSvF6SVVkYGdHcF8   Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodby...

The initial Group Stage of the tournament concludes with Group D. Group D voting poll link: https://forms.gle/BJSvF6SVVkYGdHcF8 We’re pitting our highest-scoring Brothers Grimm tales against each other to decide their ultimate story. We open the episode with a recap of the five Grimm stories in the group: The Valiant Little Tailor Rapunzel Gambling Hansel Sweetheart Roland The Girl Without Hands A...

The tournament continues with Group C. Group C voting poll link: https://forms.gle/gv5os8j1gEdaNd7L7 We’re pitting our highest-scoring Brothers Grimm tales against each other to decide their ultimate story. We open the episode with a recap of the five Grimm stories in the group: Cinderella The Two Brothers The Juniper Tree The Wishing-Table, The Gold-Ass, And The Cudgel In The Sack Thumbling And w...

The tournament continues! We’re pitting our highest-scoring Brothers Grimm tales against each other to decide their ultimate story. This episode: Group B.  Group B voting poll link: https://forms.gle/cZwGF7YTY4UDi31eA We open the episode with a recap of the five Grimm stories in the group: Little Red Riding Hood The Three Little Men In The Wood Sleeping Beauty The Elves And The Shoemaker The Story...

The tournament begins! We’re pitting our highest-scoring Brothers Grimm tales against each other to decide their ultimate story. First up, we have Group A.  Group A voting poll link: https://forms.gle/JVeBVQaomVTNToXx7 We open the episode with a recap of the five Grimm stories in the group: Puss In Boots Hansel And Gretel The Fisherman And His Wife Clever Gretel Godfather Death Then we launch a sp...

Welcome to Grimmbledon! We've finished Volume 1 of the Grimms' fairy tales and it's time to decide once and for all which was the best story we read. 20 tales will be battling it out to earn the crown of the best story. In this episode, we announce the contenders and put them into 5 different groups by drawing lots.  Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: B...

We're proud to present The Princess And The Pea by the Brothers Grimm for the first time ever in the English language! Hidden in the Grimms' 5th edition of fairy tales, their version was never translated into English - until now! A crack team of translators has helped us to bring this episode to life, we can't thank you enough.  After the story, we explore what it's trying to tell us before headin...

We present our Christmas Livestream in audio form! Expect a quiz, a cake, crackers, listener chats, and a very unusual story.  You can watch the full event on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Np24YiGQG0U?si=bK-Kvdvzxa8Fhj4H