Histoires ou contes du temps passé

A 1697 collection of French literary fairy tales by Charles Perrault, also published as Tales of Mother Goose. It includes “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Sleeping Beauty.”

Cinderella: A fairy tale about a mistreated young woman whose fortunes change through supernatural aid and a royal ball. Perrault’s version turns a familiar tale into one of the collection’s defining stories.
Charles Perrault: A French writer and court official best known for literary fairy tales published in the late seventeenth century. He shaped the collection and presented its tales to a literary audience.
Literary fairy tale: A deliberately composed prose or verse tale that uses supernatural elements and conventions associated with wonder stories. Perrault’s collection helped establish the literary fairy tale as a recognized form.
Grimms’ Fairy Tales: A collection of German tales gathered and published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm beginning in 1812. The Grimms’ later collection offers a different editorial approach to shared tale traditions.
Little Red Riding Hood: A fairy tale about a girl who encounters a wolf while carrying food to her grandmother. Perrault’s version ends with a moral warning rather than a rescue.
French fairy tale: A tradition of French wonder tales told and written in forms ranging from oral narratives to literary works. Perrault’s book became a landmark within this broader tradition.
Folklore: The traditional beliefs, stories, customs, and expressive practices shared within communities. The collection draws on story material that circulated beyond printed literature.
Children’s literature: Literature written for or read by children, shaped by changing ideas about childhood and education. Perrault’s tales later became central to children’s reading, though their original audience was not exclusively children.
Sleeping Beauty: A fairy tale about a princess placed under an enchanted sleep and awakened after many years. Perrault’s version continues beyond the awakening into a darker second episode.
Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes: A late seventeenth-century French debate over whether modern culture could surpass the achievements of antiquity. Perrault’s defense of modern authors helped frame his literary project.

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