has everyone seen the google doodle for today? honouring charles perrault, fairy tale creator

[niyad]

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Who was Charles Perrault? Why the fairy tales you know may not be as they seem
French author Charles Perrault was born 388 years ago on January 12, and has become immortalised as the father of the fairy tale as we know it




Charles Perrault, author of Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella was born 388 years ago, and has been commemorated with a Google Doodle. Perrault was born in Paris in 1628, and was a lawyer before turning his hand to the written word.



Charles Perrault (1628-1703)Charles Perrault (1628-1703)

While the Brothers Grimm are widely credited with creating the fairy tale as we know it, Perrault actually wrote stories called Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, La Belle au bois dormant and Cendrillon a full 200 years before.

In 1695, aged 67, he wrote Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals, a series of moral tales designed to prompt the reader to reflect on the dilemmas presented to the protagonist, which were well-known from folklore even then.

The volume contained the story now known as Mother Goose, alongside perrenially recognised titles such as Puss in Boots, Blue Beard and Cinderella, and less famous stories Ricky of the Tuft and Little Thumb.

. . . .

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/google-doodle/12093512/Who-was-Charles-Perrault-Why-the-fairy-tales-you-know-may-not-be-as-they-seem.html


Charles Perrault (French: [ʃaʁl pɛʁo]; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known of his tales include Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), Cendrillon (Cinderella), Le Chat Botté (Puss in Boots), La Belle au bois dormant (The Sleeping Beauty), and Barbe bleue (Bluebeard).[1] Some of Perrault's versions of old stories may have influenced the German versions published by the Brothers Grimm more than 100 years later. The stories continue to be printed and have been adapted to opera, ballet (such as Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty), theatre, and film. Perrault was an influential figure in the 17th-century French literary scene, and was the leader of the Modern faction during the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns.

. . . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Perrault

[REP]

1. He didn't invent so much as collect

There are, for example, numerous versions of Little Red Riding Hood. Most of them are pretty dirty and/or scatalogical; Perrault bowlderized a version into the one we're familiar with. Same for Cinderella; that story exists in several cultures as well as several versions.

Gilles de Rais, who fought with Joan D'Arc, is the basis for Blue Beard, though his crimes (that many believe he was falsely accused of) were against children. The story predates Perrault by nearly 200 years.

[niyad]

2. nobody said he invented, merely that he is responsible for the form we know today.

ages ago, I had a book that was a collection of stories that were the origin of many of the tales we know today. wish I still had it.

[REP]

3. The excerpts used heavily imply he wrote or created from whole cloth those stories

Obviously, I think the entire history is more interesting 😄 I have numerous books of these stories; I've enjoyed them since I was very young, especially the creepier Grimm collections.

[niyad]

4. the wiki article made it quite clear that he was using much older stories.

[niyad]

5. you are probably familiar with these, then:

http://list25.com/25-dark-and-disturbing-original-versions-of-childrens-fairy-tales/

http://flavorwire.com/344667/the-disturbing-origins-of-10-famous-fairy-tales

http://www.enkivillage.com/original-fairy-tales.html