About the Author

Two centuries ago Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm travelled through rural Germany together, collecting and publishing old, traditional folktales. They are now among the most well-known storytellers of German folklore. Their first collection, 'Children's and Household Tales', otherwise known as 'Grimms' Fairy Tales', was published in 1812. During the nineteenth century Europe, Britain and the British colonies experienced a flowering of Romanticism in the form of art, architecture, poetry, literature, folklore and folk tales. The latter, in particular, played a major role in the development of Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology. Lucy Crane (1842-1882) was an English writer, art critic and translator. She worked on children's stories and nursery rhymes and lectured in England on fine art. Crane worked on children's nursery rhymes and stories, and she translated the Brothers Grimm's "Household Stories" collection from German to English in 1882. Walter Crane (1845-1915) was Lucy's brother, an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most prolific and influential children's book creator of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway, one of the strongest contributors to the child's nursery motif that the genre of English children's illustrated literature would exhibit in its developmental stages in the latter 19th century. His work featured some of the more colourful and detailed beginnings of the child-in-the-garden motifs that would characterize many nursery rhymes and children's stories for decades to come. He was part of the Arts and Crafts movement and produced an array of paintings, illustrations, children's books, ceramic tiles and other decorative arts. Cecilia Dart-Thornton is a highly acclaimed fantasy author whose books are popular across the globe and translated into several languages. Notable works include The Bitterbynde Trilogy.