3 h 11 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A forbidden room, a wolf in the woods, a glass slipper: familiar tales carry sharp edges here.
In The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault, magic meets danger in a brisk, spare style. Sleeping Beauty faces a fairy’s curse. Little Red Riding Hood carries food through the woods to her sick grandmother. Bluebeard gives his new wife every key, but forbids her one room.
The collection also includes Puss in Boots, The Fairies, Cinderella, Riquet with the Tuft, and Little Thumb. Cleverness, kindness, and fate run through these stories, where magic brings wonder and danger is never far away. Each ends with a short moral in verse: dry, often funny, and written with a wink for grown-up readers.
What you’ll discover
- Magic with sharp edges Meet curses, fairies, and forbidden rooms in tales where wonder sits close to danger.
- A cat with plans Follow Puss in Boots as he pursues wealth for his poor master through bold lies.
- Kindness under pressure Meet Cinderella, mistreated yet kind, as she longs to attend the prince’s ball.
- Small heroes, quick wits Follow Little Thumb, the smallest brother, as he uses cleverness against hunger and danger.
- Morals with a wink Discover brief rhyming endings that bring wit and sharp social observation to the tales.
Who will love it
For readers who love the original forms of tales they know from films, for parents and teachers, and for anyone curious about French court culture, magic, wit and morals.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A christening gone wrong in Sleeping Beauty
- Little Red Riding Hood meets the wolf
- Bluebeard and the forbidden room
- Clever Puss in Boots and the miller's son
- Cinderella and the glass slipper
- Fairies, ogres and small heroes
- What the morals tell us
- Themes of fate, cleverness and kindness
- How Perrault tells a tale
Who’s who
- Sleeping BeautyA princess cursed at her christening by a fairy who was forgotten, and protected from the worst by a young fairy.
- Little Red Riding HoodA trusting village girl who carries a cake and butter to her sick grandmother through the woods.
- BluebeardA rich, frightening man with a blue beard, who gives his new wife every key and forbids her one room.
- Puss in BootsA clever cat who wants to lift his poor master to wealth, using a bag, boots and bold lies.
- CinderellaA kind, mistreated girl who longs to go to the prince's ball, and who is helped by her fairy godmother.
- Little ThumbThe smallest of seven brothers, who uses his wits to save his family from hunger and danger.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 3 h 11 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Les contes de Charles Perrault
by Charles Perrault · 1697
Bluebeard gives his new wife every key but forbids her one room, putting curiosity face to face with danger.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
In 1697 a French court writer named Charles Perrault published a small book of eight prose tales under the title Histories or Tales of Past Times, with Morals. The cover showed an old woman spinning, and a sign above her read Tales of Mother Goose.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A christening gone wrong in Sleeping Beauty
The collection opens with Sleeping Beauty, called The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood. A king and queen long for a child, and at last a daughter is born. They invite seven fairies to the christening to be her godmothers. Each fairy gives the baby a gift, such as beauty, grace or a lovely singing voice.
Then an old fairy arrives who has been forgotten, because nobody had seen her for years and everyone thought she was dead or enchanted. She is offended, and she mutters a threat. A young fairy hides behind a curtain, so that she may speak last.
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What fairy tales did Charles Perrault write?
His best-known collection from 1697 has eight prose tales: Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, The Fairies, Cinderella, Riquet with the Tuft and Little Thumb. Each ends with a moral in verse.
Are Perrault's fairy tales the same as the Disney versions?
No. Perrault's tales are shorter, drier and often darker. Disney films borrowed plots and images, such as the pumpkin coach and the glass slipper, but changed characters, tone and many events.
Why does each Perrault tale have a moral?
Perrault wrote for adults in Paris salons as well as children. The verse morals comment on manners and behavior, and some of them are teasing or ironic rather than strictly serious.
The author
Charles Perrault
1628–1703 · French fairy tale writer
Charles Perrault was a French author born in Paris in 1628. He lived in France and died in Paris in 1703. He wrote poetry and prose and became a member of the French Academy in 1671. His collection of fairy tales was published in 1697.
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