The Brothers Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were scholars best known for their lifelong dedication to collecting and publishing ancient German folk tales. Their groundbreaking Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales) was published in seven different editions between 1812 and 1857 and brought to the world’s attention such unforgettable characters as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, and Snow White.
Rainer Maria Rilke has been called one of the most lyrically intense poets of the German language. He was born in Prague and traveled extensively throughout Europe but felt the greatest affinity to Switzerland, whose landscapes inspired many of his works
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, and essayist. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas are noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. Mann won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929.