The first volume of the first edition was published in 1812, containing 86 stories; the second volume of 70 stories followed in 1815. For the second edition, two volumes were issued in 1819 and a third in 1822, totalling 170 tales. The third edition appeared in 1837; fourth edition, 1840; fifth edition, 1843; sixth edition, 1850; seventh edition, 1857. Stories were added, and also subtracted, from one edition to the next, until the seventh held 211 tales. All editions were extensively illustrated, first by Philipp Grot Johann and, after his death in 1892, by German illustrator Robert Leinweber.
The first volumes were much criticized because, although they were called "Children's Tales", they were not regarded as suitable for children, both for the scholarly information included and the subject matter. Many changes through the editions – such as turning the wicked mother of the first edition in Snow White and Hansel and Gretel (shown in original Grimm stories as Hänsel and Grethel) to a stepmother, were probably made with an eye to such suitability. They removed sexual references—such as Rapunzel's innocently asking why her dress was getting tight around her belly, and thus naively revealing to the fairy her pregnancy and the prince's visits—but, in many respects, violence, particularly when punishing villains, was increased.
In 1825, the Brothers published their Kleine Ausgabe or "small edition", a selection of 50 tales designed for child readers. This children's version went through ten editions between 1825 and 1858.
The influence of these books was widespread. W. H. Auden praised the collection during World War II as one of the founding works of Western culture. The tales themselves have been put to many uses. Hitler praised them as folkish tales showing children with sound racial instincts seeking racially pure marriage partners, and so strongly that the Allied forces warned against them; for instance, Cinderella with the heroine as racially pure, the stepmother as an alien, and the prince with an unspoiled instinct being able to distinguish. Writers who have written about the Holocaust have combined the tales with their memoirs, as Jane Yolen in her Briar Rose.
The work of the Brothers Grimm influenced other collectors, both inspiring them to collect tales and leading them to similarly believe, in a spirit of romantic nationalism, that the fairy tales of a country were particularly representative of it, to the neglect of cross-cultural influence. Among those influenced were the Russian Alexander Afanasyev, the Norwegians Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, the English Joseph Jacobs, and Jeremiah Curtin, an American who collected Irish tales. There was not always a pleased reaction to their collection. Joseph Jacobs was in part inspired by his complaint that English children did not read English fairy tales; in his own words, "What Perrault began, the Grimms completed".
Three individual works of Wilhelm Grimm include Altdänische Heldenlieder, Balladen und Märchen ('Old Danish Heroic Songs, Ballads, and Folktales') in 1811, Über deutsche Runen ('On German Runes') in 1821, and Die deutsche Heldensage ('The German Heroic Saga') in 1829.
The Grimm anthology has been a source of inspiration for artists and composers. Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane and Rie Cramer are among the artists who have created illustrations based on the stories.
The code "KHM" stands for Kinder- und Hausmärchen. The titles are those as of 1857. Some titles in 1812 were different. All editions from 1812 until 1857 split the stories into two volumes.
KHM 1: The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich (Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich)
KHM 2: Cat and Mouse in Partnership (Katze und Maus in Gesellschaft)
KHM 3: Mary's Child (Marienkind)
KHM 4: The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was (Märchen von einem, der auszog das Fürchten zu lernen)
KHM 5: The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids (Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Geißlein)
KHM 6: Faithful John or Trusty John (Der treue Johannes)
KHM 7: The Good Bargain (Der gute Handel)
KHM 8: The Wonderful Musician or The Strange Musician (Der wunderliche Spielmann)
KHM 9: The Twelve Brothers (Die zwölf Brüder)
KHM 10: The Pack of Ragamuffins (Das Lumpengesindel)
KHM 11: Little Brother and Little Sister (Brüderchen und Schwesterchen)
KHM 12: Rapunzel
KHM 13: The Three Little Men in the Woods (Die drei Männlein im Walde)
KHM 14: The Three Spinning Women (Die drei Spinnerinnen)
KHM 15: Hansel and Grethel (Hänsel und Gretel)
KHM 16: The Three Snake-Leaves (Die drei Schlangenblätter)
KHM 17: The White Snake (Die weiße Schlange)
KHM 18: The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean (Strohhalm, Kohle und Bohne)
KHM 19: The Fisherman and His Wife (Von dem Fischer und seiner Frau)
KHM 20: The Brave Little Tailor or The Valiant Little Tailor or The Gallant Tailor (Das tapfere Schneiderlein)
KHM 21: Cinderella (Aschenputtel)
KHM 22: The Riddle (Das Rätsel)
KHM 23: The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage (Von dem Mäuschen, Vögelchen und der Bratwurst)
KHM 24: Mother Holle or Mother Hulda or Old Mother Frost (Frau Holle)
KHM 25: The Seven Ravens (Die sieben Raben)
KHM 26: Little Red Cap (Rotkäppchen)
KHM 27: The Bremen Town Musicians (Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten)
KHM 28: The Singing Bone (Der singende Knochen)
KHM 29: The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs (Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren)
KHM 30: The Louse and the Flea (Läuschen und Flöhchen)
KHM 31: The Girl Without Hands or The Handless Maiden (Das Mädchen ohne Hände)
KHM 32: Clever Hans (Der gescheite Hans)
KHM 33: The Three Languages (Die drei Sprachen)
KHM 34: Clever Elsie (Die kluge Else)
KHM 35: The Tailor in Heaven (Der Schneider im Himmel)
KHM 36: The Magic Table, the Gold-Donkey, and the Club in the Sack ("Tischchen deck dich, Goldesel und Knüppel aus dem Sack" also known as "Tischlein, deck dich!")
KHM 37: Thumbling (Daumsdick) (see also Tom Thumb)
KHM 38: The Wedding of Mrs. Fox (Die Hochzeit der Frau Füchsin)
KHM 39: The Elves (Die Wichtelmänner)
The Elves and the Shoemaker (Erstes Märchen)
Second Story (Zweites Märchen)
Third Story (Drittes Märchen)
KHM 40: The Robber Bridegroom (Der Räuberbräutigam)
KHM 41: Herr Korbes
KHM 42: The Godfather (Der Herr Gevatter)
KHM 43: Frau Trude
KHM 44: Godfather Death (Der Gevatter Tod)
KHM 45: Thumbling's Travels (see also Tom Thumb) (Daumerlings Wanderschaft)
KHM 46: Fitcher's Bird (Fitchers Vogel)
KHM 47: The Juniper Tree (Von dem Machandelboom)
KHM 48: Old Sultan (Der alte Sultan)
KHM 49: The Six Swans (Die sechs Schwäne)
KHM 50: Little Briar-Rose (see also Sleeping Beauty) (Dornröschen)
KHM 51: Foundling-Bird (Fundevogel)
KHM 52: King Thrushbeard (König Drosselbart)
KHM 53: Little Snow White (Schneewittchen)
KHM 54: The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn (Der Ranzen, das Hütlein und das Hörnlein)
KHM 55: Rumpelstiltskin (Rumpelstilzchen)
KHM 56: Sweetheart Roland (Der Liebste Roland)
KHM 57: The Golden Bird (Der goldene Vogel)
KHM 58: The Dog and the Sparrow (Der Hund und der Sperling)
KHM 59: Frederick and Catherine (Der Frieder und das Katherlieschen)
KHM 60: The Two Brothers (Die zwei Brüder)
KHM 61: The Little Peasant (Das Bürle)
KHM 62: The Queen Bee (Die Bienenkönigin)
KHM 63: The Three Feathers (Die drei Federn)
KHM 64: The Golden Goose (Die goldene Gans)
KHM 65: All-Kinds-of-Fur (Allerleirauh)
KHM 66: The Hare's Bride (Häschenbraut)
KHM 67: The Twelve Huntsmen (Die zwölf Jäger)
KHM 68: The Thief and His Master (De Gaudeif un sien Meester)
KHM 69: Jorinde and Joringel (Jorinde und Joringel)
KHM 70: The Three Sons of Fortune (Die drei Glückskinder)
KHM 71: How Six Men got on in the World (Sechse kommen durch die ganze Welt)
KHM 72: The Wolf and the Man (Der Wolf und der Mensch)
KHM 73: The Wolf and the Fox (Der Wolf und der Fuchs)
KHM 74: Gossip Wolf and the Fox (Der Fuchs und die Frau Gevatterin)
KHM 75: The Fox and the Cat (Der Fuchs und die Katze)
KHM 76: The Pink (Die Nelke)
KHM 77: Clever Grethel (Die kluge Gretel)
KHM 78: The Old Man and his Grandson (Der alte Großvater und der Enkel)
KHM 79: The Water Nixie (Die Wassernixe)
KHM 80: The Death of the Little Hen (Von dem Tode des Hühnchens)
KHM 81: Brother Lustig (Bruder Lustig)
KHM 82: Gambling Hansel (De Spielhansl)
KHM 83: Hans in Luck (Hans im Glück)
KHM 84: Hans Married (Hans heiratet)
KHM 85: The Gold-Children (Die Goldkinder)
KHM 86: The Fox and the Geese (Der Fuchs und die Gänse)
KHM 87: The Poor Man and the Rich Man (Der Arme und der Reiche)
KHM 88: The Singing, Springing Lark (Das singende springende Löweneckerchen)
KHM 89: The Goose Girl (Die Gänsemagd)
KHM 90: The Young Giant (Der junge Riese)
KHM 91: The Gnome (Dat Erdmänneken)
KHM 92: The King of the Gold Mountain (Der König vom goldenen Berg)
KHM 93: The Raven (Die Raben)
KHM 94: The Peasant's Wise Daughter (Die kluge Bauerntochter)
KHM 95: Old Hildebrand (Der alte Hildebrand)
KHM 96: The Three Little Birds (De drei Vügelkens)
KHM 97: The Water of Life (Das Wasser des Lebens)
KHM 98: Doctor Know-all (Doktor Allwissend)
KHM 99: The Spirit in the Bottle (Der Geist im Glas)
KHM 100: The Devil's Sooty Brother (Des Teufels rußiger Bruder)
KHM 101: Bearskin (Bärenhäuter)
KHM 102: The Willow Wren and the Bear (Der Zaunkönig und der Bär)
KHM 103: Sweet Porridge (Der süße Brei)
KHM 104: Wise Folks (Die klugen Leute)
KHM 105: Tales of the Paddock (Märchen von der Unke)
KHM 106: The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat (Der arme Müllersbursch und das Kätzchen)
KHM 107: The Two Travelers (Die beiden Wanderer)
KHM 108: Hans My Hedgehog (Hans mein Igel)
KHM 109: The Shroud (Das Totenhemdchen)
KHM 110: The Jew Among Thorns (Der Jude im Dorn)
KHM 111: The Skillful Huntsman (Der gelernte Jäger)
KHM 112: The Flail from Heaven (Der Dreschflegel vom Himmel)
KHM 113: The Two Kings' Children (Die beiden Königskinder)
KHM 114: The Cunning Little Tailor or The Story of a Clever Tailor (vom klugen Schneiderlein)
KHM 115: The Bright Sun Brings it to Light (Die klare Sonne bringt's an den Tag)
KHM 116: The Blue Light (Das blaue Licht)
KHM 117: The Willful Child (Das eigensinnige Kind)
KHM 118: The Three Army Surgeons (Die drei Feldscherer)
KHM 119: The Seven Swabians (Die sieben Schwaben)
KHM 120: The Three Apprentices (Die drei Handwerksburschen)
KHM 121: The King's Son Who Feared Nothing (Der Königssohn, der sich vor nichts fürchtete)
KHM 122: Donkey Cabbages (Der Krautesel)
KHM 123: The Old Woman in the Wood (Die alte im Wald)
KHM 124: The Three Brothers (Die drei Brüder)
KHM 125: The Devil and His Grandmother (Der Teufel und seine Großmutter)
KHM 126: Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful (Ferenand getrü und Ferenand ungetrü)
KHM 127: The Iron Stove (Der Eisenofen)
KHM 128: The Lazy Spinner (Die faule Spinnerin)
KHM 129: The Four Skillful Brothers (Die vier kunstreichen Brüder)
KHM 130: Little One-Eye, Little Two-Eyes, and Little Three-Eyes (Einäuglein, Zweiäuglein und Dreiäuglein)
KHM 131: Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie (Die schöne Katrinelje und Pif Paf Poltrie)
KHM 132: The Fox and the Horse (Der Fuchs und das Pferd)
KHM 133: The Shoes that were Danced to Pieces (Die zertanzten Schuhe)
KHM 134: The Six Servants (Die sechs Diener)
KHM 135: The White and the Black Bride (Die weiße und die schwarze Braut)
KHM 136: Iron John (Eisenhans)
KHM 137: The Three Black Princesses (De drei schwatten Prinzessinnen)
KHM 138: Knoist and his Three Sons (Knoist un sine dre Sühne)
KHM 139: The Maid of Brakel (Dat Mäken von Brakel)
KHM 140: My Household (Das Hausgesinde)
KHM 141: The Lambkin and the Little Fish (Das Lämmchen und das Fischchen)
KHM 142: Simeli Mountain (Simeliberg)
KHM 143: Going a Traveling (Up Reisen gohn) appeared in the 1819 edition
KHM 143 in the 1812/1815 edition was Die Kinder in Hungersnot (the starving children)
KHM 144: The Donkey (Das Eselein)
KHM 145: The Ungrateful Son (Der undankbare Sohn)
KHM 146: The Turnip (Die Rübe)
KHM 147: The Old Man Made Young Again (Das junggeglühte Männlein)
KHM 148: The Lord's Animals and the Devil's (Des Herrn und des Teufels Getier)
KHM 149: The Beam (Der Hahnenbalken)
KHM 150: The Old Beggar Woman (Die alte Bettelfrau)
KHM 151: The Three Sluggards (Die drei Faulen)
KHM 152: The Twelve Idle Servants (Die zwölf faulen Knechte)
KHM 153: The Shepherd Boy (Das Hirtenbüblein)
KHM 154: The Star Money (Die Sterntaler)
KHM 155: The Stolen Farthings (Der gestohlene Heller)
KHM 156: Looking for a Bride (Die Brautschau)
KHM 157: The Hurds (Die Schlickerlinge)
KHM 158: The Sparrow and His Four Children (Der Sperling und seine vier Kinder)
KHM 159: The Story of Schlauraffen Land (Das Märchen vom Schlaraffenland)
KHM 160: The Ditmarsch Tale of Lies (Das dietmarsische Lügenmärchen)
KHM 161: A Riddling Tale (Rätselmärchen)
KHM 162: Snow-White and Rose-Red (Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot)
KHM 163: The Wise Servant (Der kluge Knecht)
KHM 164: The Glass Coffin (Der gläserne Sarg)
KHM 165: Lazy Henry (Der faule Heinz)
KHM 166: The Griffin (Der Vogel Greif)
KHM 167: Strong Hans (Der starke Hans)
KHM 168: The Peasant in Heaven (Das Bürli im Himmel)
KHM 169: Lean Lisa (Die hagere Liese)
KHM 170: The Hut in the Forest (Das Waldhaus)
KHM 171: Sharing Joy and Sorrow (Lieb und Leid teilen)
KHM 172: The Willow Wren (Der Zaunkönig)
KHM 173: The Sole (Die Scholle)
KHM 174: The Bittern and the Hoopoe (Rohrdommel und Wiedehopf)
KHM 175: The Owl (Die Eule)
KHM 176: The Moon (Brothers Grimm) (Der Mond)
KHM 177: The Duration of Life (Die Lebenszeit)
KHM 178: Death's Messengers (Die Boten des Todes)
KHM 179: Master Pfreim (Meister Pfriem)
KHM 180: The Goose-Girl at the Well (Die Gänsehirtin am Brunnen)
KHM 181: Eve's Various Children (Die ungleichen Kinder Evas)
KHM 182: The Nixie of the Mill-Pond (Die Nixe im Teich)
KHM 183: The Little Folks' Presents (Die Geschenke des kleinen Volkes)
KHM 184: The Giant and the Tailor (Der Riese und der Schneider)
KHM 185: The Nail (Brothers Grimm) (Der Nagel)
KHM 186: The Poor Boy in the Grave (Der arme Junge im Grab)
KHM 187: The True Bride (Die wahre Braut)
KHM 188: The Hare and the Hedgehog (Der Hase und der Igel)
KHM 189: Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle (Spindel, Weberschiffchen und Nadel)
KHM 190: The Peasant and the Devil (Der Bauer und der Teufel)
KHM 191: The Crumbs on the Table (Die Brosamen auf dem Tisch)
KHM 192: The Sea-Hare (Das Meerhäschen)
KHM 193: The Master Thief (Der Meisterdieb)
KHM 194: The Drummer (Der Trommler)
KHM 195: The Ear of Corn (Die Kornähre)
KHM 196: The Grave Mound (Der Grabhügel)
KHM 197: Old Rinkrank (Oll Rinkrank)
KHM 198: The Crystal Ball (Die Kristallkugel)
KHM 199: Maid Maleen (Jungfrau Maleen)
KHM 200: The Boots of Buffalo Leather (Der Stiefel von Büffelleder)
KHM 201: The Golden Key (Der goldene Schlüssel)
The children's legends (Kinder-legende)
first appeared in the G. Reimer 1819 edition at the end of volume 2
KHM 202: Saint Joseph in the Forest (Der heilige Joseph im Walde)
KHM 203: The Twelve Apostles (Brothers Grimm) (Die zwölf Apostel)
KHM 204: The Rose (Die Rose)
KHM 205: Poverty and Humility Lead to Heaven (Armut und Demut führen zum Himmel)
KHM 206: God's Food (Gottes Speise)
KHM 207: The Three Green Twigs (Die drei grünen Zweige)
KHM 208: The Blessed Virgin's Little Glass (Muttergottesgläschen) or Our Lady's Little Glass
KHM 209: The Little Old Lady (Das alte Mütterchen) or The Aged Mother
KHM 210: The Heavenly Marriage (Die himmlische Hochzeit) or The Heavenly Wedding
KHM 211: The Hazel Branch (Die Haselrute)
1812 KHM 6 Von der Nachtigall und der Blindschleiche (The nightingale and the slow worm) also (The Nightingale and the Blindworm)
1812 KHM 8 Die Hand mit dem Messer (The hand with the knife)
1812 KHM 22 Wie Kinder Schlachtens miteinander gespielt haben (The Children Who Played Slaughtering)
1812 KHM 27 Der Tod und der Gänsehirt (Death and the Goose Keeper)
1812 KHM 33 Der gestiefelte Kater (Puss in Boots)
1812 KHM 37 Von der Serviette, dem Tornister, dem Kanonenhütlein und dem Horn (Of the napkin, the knapsack, the Cannon guarding flax, and the Horn)
1812 KHM 43 Die wunderliche Gasterei (The strange Inn/The Wonderly Guesting Manor)
1812 KHM 54 Hans Dumm (Foolish Hans)
1812 KHM 62 Blaubart (Bluebeard)
1812 KHM 66 Hurleburlebutz
1812 KHM 70 Der Okerlo (The Okerlo)
1812 KHM 71 Prinzessin Mäusehaut (Princess Mouse Skin)
1812 KHM 72 Das Birnli will nit fallen (The Fruit Will Not Fall)
1812 KHM 73 Das Mörderschloss (The Murder Castle)
1812 KHM 77 Vom Schreiner und Drechsler (Of The Carpenter and Turner)
1812 KHM 82 Die drei Schwestern (The Three Sisters)
1812 KHM 85A Schneeblume (Snow Flower)
1812 KHM 85D Vom Prinz Johannes (Fragment) (Of Prince Johannes)
Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse (Princess and the Pea)
Der Faule und der Fleißige (The sluggard and the diligent)
Der gute Lappen (Fragment) (The good rag)
Die heilige Frau Kummernis (The holy woman Kummernis)
Die Krähen (The Crows)
Der Löwe und der Frosch (The Lion and the Frog)
Der Räuber und seine Söhne (The Robber and His Sons)
Der Soldat und der Schreiner (The Soldier and the Carpenter)
Die treuen Tiere (The faithful animals)
Das Unglück (The Accident)
Der wilde Mann (The Wild Man)
The Smith and the Devil