Charles Perrault

Lore & Background

Charles Perrault was a French author and a member of the Académie Française who established the fairy tale as a distinct literary genre. He drew upon earlier folk tales for his 1697 collection Histoires ou contes du temps passé, which includes enduring stories such as "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," "Puss in Boots," "Sleeping Beauty," and "Bluebeard." His versions of these old stories later influenced the German adaptations published by the Brothers Grimm more than a century afterward. Born in Paris on 12 January 1628 to a wealthy bourgeois family, he studied law before serving in government, aiding in the creation of the Academy of Sciences and the restoration of the Academy of Painting. He served as secretary of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres under finance minister Jean Baptiste Colbert.

Using his influence, he helped his brother Claude gain a position on the committee that designed the Louvre’s Colonnade. Perrault wrote works such as La Peinture and Courses de tetes et de bague, and he produced the guidebook for the labyrinth of Versailles. After Colbert forced him into retirement in 1682, Perrault turned to epic poetry, writing Saint Paulin, évêque de Nôle.

Reader's Guide

Charles Perrault’s 1697 collection Histoires ou contes du temps passé (often called Tales of Mother Goose) established a new literary genre by adapting older folk narratives into polished prose. His versions of stories such as “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Cinderella,” “Puss in Boots,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Bluebeard” became the most widely known forms of these tales. More than a century later, the Brothers Grimm drew upon Perrault’s renditions when compiling their own German collections. Perrault’s tales have remained in continuous print and have been adapted into nearly every entertainment medium.

In the context of seventeenth-century French letters, Perrault was a central figure: he served as secretary of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, was elected to the Académie Française, and led the Modern faction in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns, arguing that the literature of his own era surpassed that of antiquity. His earlier career included government service under finance minister Colbert, involvement in the creation of the Academy of Sciences, and authorship of works defending opera and celebrating the reign of Louis XIV. After retiring from official posts in 1682, he turned to religious epic poetry before producing the fairy-tale collection that secured his lasting influence.

Did You Know?

• Perrault's tales were not well received among French literary society, who considered them only fit for old people and children.
• His 'Tales of Mother Goose' became a famous classroom reading text in the nineteenth century.
• Perrault's work helped inspire later nineteenth-century fantasy and fairy tales for children.