‘Fairy-Tale Germany’

Lisa Marlowe’s contention that “the Brothers Grimm lived and set their tales” in Lower Saxony (“Fairy-Tale Germany,” May 28) is rather inaccurate. The brothers were born, studied and worked most of their lives in the neighboring state of Hesse. They briefly held positions as librarians and professors in Gottingen, Lower Saxony, during the 1830s, but by then, their tales had already been collected and several editions of them published. Hamelin, of Pied Piper fame, is indeed in Lower Saxony, as Marlowe mentions, but this legend is hardly mythical: Rat catchers and migrations of able-bodied youth were not uncommon in medieval Germany. PETER TOKOFSKY, professor of German folklore, UCLA

Lisa Marlowe’s story on Celle, Germany, was a delight. Her mention of the rule of George II of England in that area calls for more details.

Sophia Dorothea of Celle (once called “Zell”) was the wife of the first Hanoverian King of England, George I. He accused her of infidelity, had the marriage annulled, and imprisoned the 28-year old princess for the next 32 years in the castle at Ahlden. She was never to see her children again; the son became George II and the daughter became the mother of Frederick the Great of Prussia. Her son, who was 11 at the time of the imprisonment, never forgave his father, and there was great animosity between them. This sad tale made the article especially touching to me. I’m glad Celle is doing well. HELEN CURE Long Beach