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Charles Perrault(1628-1703)

  • Writer
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Charles Perrault
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La véritable histoire du Chat Botté (2009)
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Charles Perrault was a French writer from Paris, and an early member of the Académie Française (French Academy). He was a pioneer in the then-new literary genre of the fairy tale, publishing "Stories or Tales from Past Times" (Histoires ou contes du temps passé, 1697). He combined elements from older folk tales with fantasy depictions of contemporary French society. His most popular fairy tales were "Bluebeard" (Barbe Bleue), "Cinderella" (Cendrillon), "Little Red Riding Hood" (Le Petit Chaperon Rouge), "Puss in Boots" (Le Maître chat ou le Chat botté), and "Sleeping Beauty" (La Belle au bois dormant). Perrault was a main influence on the Brothers Grimm, who published German variations of some of his tales. Several of his tales have received multiple adaptations in film, television, and theatre.

In 1628, Perrault was born to an affluent bourgeois family. He was the seventh child of Pierre Perrault and Paquette Le Clerc. His most notable brothers were the pioneering hydrologist Pierre Perrault (c. 1608-1680) and the architect, physician and anatomist Claude Perrault (1613-1688).

Perrault was trained in law, but chose to follow a career in government service. In 1663, Perrault was appointed as the first secretary of the "Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres", a learned society whose initial task was to compose or obtain Latin inscriptions to be copied on public monuments and medals. The society was founded by the influential minister of state Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683), and Perrault served as Colbert's administrative aide.

In 1669, Perrault proposed to Louis XIV of France (1638 -1715, reigned 1643-1715) the construction of a group of 39 fountains in the labyrinth of Versailles. Each fountain would represent one of Aesop's fables. The fountains were constructed between 1672 and 1677. Once the work was completed, Perrault published guidebook for the labyrinth.

In 1674, Perrault wrote a book in defense of the opera "Alceste" (1674) by Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632 - 1687). The opera was an adaptation of the Greek play "Alcestis" (438 BC) by Euripides. Traditionalists denounced Lully for deviating too much from the story of the original work, while Perrault defended the merits of Lully's work. The controversy over the opera led to the so-called "Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns". Traditionalist and modernist scholars of the French court were arguing over whether ancient literature was superior to modern works, or whether modern literature had far surpassed its predecessor. Perrault became a leader of the modernist faction.

In 1682, Perrault faced mandatory retirement from his government posts at the age of 56. Colbert wanted to replace Perrault with one of his own sons, and was no longer interested in advancing Perrault's career. Following Colbert's death, Perrault found himself targeted by Colbert's surviving political rivals.

In 1686, Perrault made his first attempt to write "serious" epic poetry. He wrote an epic about the life of the Roman writer and bishop Paulinus of Nola (c. 354-431). The poem was poorly received, and Perrault was ridiculed by the satirist Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux (1636-1711).

In 1691, Perrault experimented with the fairy tale genre by writing the novella "La Marquise de Salusses ou la Patience de Griselidis". In 1693, he wrote the fairy tale "The Ridiculous Wishes". In the story, an impoverished couple are granted three wishes by an ancient god, but waste the opportunity to improve their life through poorly-thought wishes. In 1694, Perrault wrote the fairy tale "Donkeyskin". In the story, a widowed king wants to marry his own daughter (who resembles her mother), but the unwilling girl is protected by her fairy godmother. These stories were more warmly received by Perrault's associates.

In 1695, Perrault compiled the first edition of "Stories or Tales from Past Times". He collected his imaginative fairy tales, concluding each of them with a "rhymed, well-defined and cynical moral". In 1697, the work received its first printed edition. It became widely popular, with eight reprints in Perrault's lifetime.

In 1699, Perrault published his translation of the fables compiled by the Italian writer Gabriele Faerno (1510-1561). This translation was popular in England during the 18th century, and was used as a school textbook. It was Perrault's last significant work. Perrault died in 1703, at the age of 75. Most of his works fell out of fashion during the decades following his death, but his fairy tales remained in print. They have remained popular for centuries, ensuring an enduring fame for Perrault.
BornJanuary 12, 1628
DiedMay 16, 1703(75)
BornJanuary 12, 1628
DiedMay 16, 1703(75)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Awards

Known for

Cinderella (1950)
Cinderella
7.3
  • Writer
  • 1950
Lily James in Cinderella (2015)
Cinderella
6.9
  • Writer
  • 2015
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Sleeping Beauty
7.2
  • Writer
  • 1959
Angelina Jolie in Maleficent (2014)
Maleficent
6.9
  • Writer
  • 2014

Credits

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IMDbPro

Writer

  • Cinderella by Charles Perrault
  • Bluebeard's Castle
  • The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2006)
    The Metropolitan Opera HD Live
  • Gerald Finley and Karen Cargill in Duke Bluebeard's Castle (2020)
    Duke Bluebeard's Castle
  • Massenet: Cendrillon (2020)
    Massenet: Cendrillon
  • Zajcic za laku noc
  • Rossini: La Cenerentola (2020)
    Rossini: La Cenerentola
  • Vangelis Ximerakis, Evgenios Gketseras, Maria Aikaterina Kalampouridou, Vivien Politi, Triandafylli Bouterakou, Giota Tzoani, Leonardo Thimo, and Katerina Kourakou in I Kokkinoskoufitsa kai ta filarakia tis (2020)
    I Kokkinoskoufitsa kai ta filarakia tis
  • Anansi Storytime (2016)
    Anansi Storytime
  • Michelle Pfeiffer, Angelina Jolie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elle Fanning, Ed Skrein, and Harris Dickinson in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
    Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
  • Amelia Gabbard in Aurora (2018)
    Aurora
  • I riassuntini (2018)
    I riassuntini
    • (2020)
  • Maria Diaz in Cinderella (2018)
    Cinderella
  • Josiane Balasko, Marilou Berry, Didier Bourdon, Vincent Desagnat, Jérôme Commandeur, and Arnaud Ducret in The New Adventures of Cinderella (2017)
    The New Adventures of Cinderella
  • La Cenerentola (2017)
    La Cenerentola

Videos1

The True Story of Puss 'N Boots
Trailer 1:32
The True Story of Puss 'N Boots

Personal details

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    • January 12, 1628
    • Paris, France
    • May 16, 1703
    • Paris, France(undisclosed)
    • May 1, 1672 - May 16, 1703 (his death, 5 children)
  • Other works
    Story: Wrote "Cendrillon" (filmed as Cinderella (1911), Cinderella (1914), Rossini: La Cenerentola (2014), L'homme au parapluie: Une histoire de Cendrillon (2012), Trois contes merveilleux (2007), Lort & Lagkage (2002), Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998), Cinderella & The House on Chicken Legs (1998), La Cenerentola (1996), Cinderella (1985), La Cenerentola (1983) (TV)_, _Cinderella (1981)_, Cinderella (1979), Cinderella (1977), The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976), That Girl in Wonderland (1973), Cinderella (1972), Cinderella (1970), The Little Glass Slipper (1966), Cendrillon (1966), Cinderella (1965), Cinderella (1963), Cinderella (1950), The Glass Slipper (1959), Cinderella (1955), Érase una vez (1950), Cenerentola (1949), Cinderella (1950), Cinderella (1922), Cinderella's Twin (1920), Cinderella and the Magic Slipper (1917), Cinderella (1907), Cinderella (1899), Cinderella (1898)).

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    He is the creator of the "Mother Goose" character. His book, "Histoires ou contes du temps passé, avec des moralités: Contes de ma mère l'Oye" (Stories or Tales from Times Past, with Morals: Tales of Mother Goose) published in 1697, featured a frontispiece with an old woman with a distaff, by a hearth, telling stories to three children, this is the image used for her ever since.

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