Recommendations from our site
“A great deal has been written about the Brothers Grimm. Schmiesing brings us back to the world of post-Napoleonic Europe in which they lived, the quickening sense of a German identity linked to these stories. Wagner is just around the corner and, in a fascinating epilogue, she looks not only at the way that psychologists and psychoanalysts would use the Grimms’ findings, but also the way that the Nazis would use the idea of German identity associate with the soil and the folk.” Read more...
The Best Historical Biographies of 2026
Roy Foster, Historian
“The Brothers Grimm by Ann Schmiesing is about the two brothers who brought us fairy tales. She does a wonderful job of taking you there, to late 18th century and early 19th century Hesse-Kassel, part of the Holy Roman Empire.” Read more...
Notable Nonfiction Books of Early 2025
Sophie Roell, Journalist
Our most recommended books
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King: A Life
by Jonathan Eig -
Patriot: A Memoir
by Alexei Navalny, translated by Arch Tait with Stephen Dalziel -
Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin
by Sue Prideaux -
Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar
by Cynthia Carr -
Augustus The Strong: A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco
by Tim Blanning -
Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life
by Jason Roberts
