Tilman Spreckelsen: The Brothers Grimm and Their Time

About this event

Tilman Spreckelsen, a long-time editor at the FAZ literary supplement and recipient of the Grimm Citizenship Lectureship, presents his new biography of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. The book interweaves the brothers' scholarly achievements – from founding German philology to their world-famous fairy tales – with the politically turbulent era of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the 1848 revolutions. Spreckelsen traces how the Grimms moved through the intellectual networks of their time, maintaining connections with Goethe, Heine and Humboldt, and how Jacob Grimm was elected to the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848. The reading will be in German, held in the atmospheric Historische Villa Metzler. Expect an evening that blends academic depth with vivid storytelling – a treat if you enjoy German cultural history, literary biographies, or simply the fascinating lives of two extraordinary scholars. A Q&A often follows, so feel free to bring your own questions about the Grimms or Spreckelsen's research.