36 minAudiobook4 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 rose puts a father's life at risk, and his youngest daughter offers to face the Beast in his place.
Beauty is kind, hard-working, and happiest with a book. When her father loses his fortune, she accepts their poverty without her elder sisters' resentment. Then a rose he picks draws him into a desperate promise. To save his life, Beauty insists on going to the Beast's palace.
The Beast frightens Beauty, yet his conduct asks her to look beyond his face. He is gentle and honest, and he longs for her company and her agreement to marry him. In Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's French fairy tale, the distance between outward beauty and inner goodness becomes a deeply personal choice.
What you’ll discover
- A brave, book-loving daughter Meet a young woman whose kindness leads her to take her father's place.
- A frightening but gentle host Enter the enchanted palace of a creature whose appearance hides an honest heart.
- A family under strain See how lost wealth brings out Beauty's generosity and her elder sisters' jealousy.
- The cost of a rose Follow a father's small gesture into a promise that places his daughter in danger.
- Goodness beyond a pleasing face Consider what makes someone worthy of love when looks and character tell different stories.
Who will love it
For anyone who loves fairy tales with a moral, enchanted castles and stories of inner goodness, or wants the source of a story told many times on stage and screen.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A merchant loses his fortune
- A rose costs the merchant dearly
- Beauty goes to the Beast's palace
- What the tale says about goodness
Who’s who
- BeautyThe merchant's youngest daughter, kind, hard-working and fond of books, who offers to take her father's place to save his life.
- The BeastThe master of the enchanted castle, frightening to look at but gentle and honest, who longs for Beauty's company and her agreement to marry him.
- The merchantBeauty's father, once rich and now poor, who loves his children and is caught by a rose he picks for his youngest daughter.
- The elder sistersTwo proud, jealous daughters who resent Beauty's charm and her cheerful acceptance of poverty, and who want fine things.
- The brothersThe merchant's three sons, who want to fight the Beast to protect their sister and father.
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
- 36 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 4 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.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Beauty and the Beast in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Beauty and the Beast
by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont · 1756
A single rose binds a merchant's daughter to a frightening Beast, whose kindness asks her to look beyond appearances.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Beauty and the Beast is a French fairy tale written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and printed in 1756 in a magazine for young readers. She was a French teacher living in England, and she cut down a much longer tale by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, published in 1740.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A merchant loses his fortune
A rich merchant has six children, three sons and three daughters. He spends freely on their education and teachers, and he is proud of them. The youngest daughter is so lovely that, as a child, everyone calls her Beauty. The name stays with her as she grows up, and it makes her two elder sisters jealous.
Then the family's wealth is lost. The merchant must move his children to a small house in the country. The elder sisters are proud and refuse to accept their new life. They complain all day and expect to be waited on, as they once were.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Beauty and the Beast
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Beauty and the Beast about?
A merchant's youngest daughter, called Beauty, takes her father's place as a captive of a frightening Beast. Living in his castle, she learns that his kindness matters more than his appearance. It is a tale about character and choice.
Who wrote the original Beauty and the Beast?
The first version was written by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve in 1740. The shorter one that most people know was written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, who printed her shorter retelling in 1756.
Is Beauty and the Beast a true story?
No, it is a literary fairy tale, though it draws on older folk tales about marriages between humans and animals. Beaumont wrote her version in the eighteenth century to teach young readers about virtue.
More by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont
All 2 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
