Who was the first English translator of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales?

Edgar Taylor was the first English translator of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales.

Taylor’s English version, German Popular Stories, appeared in 1823 and helped introduce the Grimms’ tales to British readers. The book was illustrated by George Cruikshank, whose lively pictures contributed strongly to its appeal. A second volume followed in 1826.

Taylor did not translate every story in the German collection. He selected tales and adapted some details for English-speaking children and families. His work therefore differs from later complete or more literal translations, but it was historically important because it established the Grimms in the English-language publishing world.

Andrew Lang later popularized many of the same stories through his colored fairy books, but he was not the first English translator of the Grimms. The name “Taylor” can also cause confusion because John Edward Taylor was a separate nineteenth-century publisher and translator associated with German literature.