great lives lecture series

The Brothers Grimm

Great Lives Separator A slash icon used to separate content Lectures Separator A slash icon used to separate content The Brothers Grimm

by

Lecture Date: February 17, 2026

The Janet Hedrick ’73 and Jack Bales Lecture

Over two hundred years ago, the German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published a collection of world-famous fairy tales eventually published in 170 languages, making the Brothers Grimm among the top dozen most translated authors in the world. But few people today are familiar with the fascinating origins and actual contents of the Grimms’ tales. Accustomed to Disney versions and other sanitized twentieth- and twenty-first-century retellings, some readers are shocked by the violence and darkness in many Grimm tales; others, having heard of this violence, wrongly assume that every Grimm tale is saturated with bloodcurdling gruesomeness. 

Dispelling such misconceptions opens a path to better understanding the Grimms’ remarkable achievements amid tremendous personal and political upheavals. This lecture presents the “once upon a time” of the fairy tales in the context of the Grimms’ time and their legacy. 

Speaker: Ann Schmiesing

Ann Schmiesing is a professor of German and Scandinavian studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Her book The Brothers Grimm: A Biography (Yale University Press, 2024) appeared on The New Yorker’s “Best Books of 2024” and The New Statesman’s “Best Summer Reads 2025” lists. Her other publications include the books Disability, Deformity, and Disease in the Grimms’ Fairy Tales (2014) and Norway’s Christiania Theatre, 1827-1867: From Danish Showhouse to National Stage (2006), as well as over two dozen articles on fairy tales and folklore, disability studies, book illustration, and drama and dramatic criticism.  

Great Lives

Help Great Lives Live On

This compelling lecture series offers insight into a wide and diverse range of figures of historical and cultural significance. These presentations are delivered by eminent authorities from throughout this country — and abroad. Thanks to a substantial initial endowment and continuing annual support from John Chappell, the program is open to the public free of charge and no admission tickets are required. Public support — via attendance, donations, and ideas about future lecture topics — is vital to the continuation of this program.

Give to Great Lives

Weather Cancellations

When the University of Mary Washington is closed due to inclement weather the Great Lives Lecture is cancelled for that evening. To check for cancellations due to inclement weather, visit the Campus Advisories page, or the UMW Information Line at 540-654-2424.