I have started an interesting book, "Clever Maids, The Secret History of The Grimm Fairy Tales," by Valerie Paradiz. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm did not live in the Pfalz, but the first three chapters at least, have given me some new insights into German history. And they lived in a part of Germany that was west of the Rhein (Hesse), so it, like the Pfalz, was taken over by Napoleon; and some of the experiences in the two places would have been similar. Also the author writes about the experiences of women, who were the story tellers, which is not always easy to find in history books, and half of our ancestors were indeed women. The book is an easy read, and has the added virtue of being short. I am enjoying it very much, and I thought some of you might be too. Marybeth Michaels