The first published Tales of Mother Goose collection in 1697 included eight fairy tales, including Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Little Thumb, and Cinderella. In subsequent editions, Perrault added two more stories and a novelette. [1]
Charles Perrault was a French author best known for his collection of tales known in English as The Tales of Mother Goose.
Perrault was born in Paris in 1628, the seventh son of a wealthy lawyer. He attended very good schools and studied law before embarking on a career in government service, following in the footsteps of his father. He eventually left the profession to pursue a career in literature and became a prominent figure in French literary circles and a member of several literary societies.
He was significant in the development of the fairy tale genre, and his stories have been widely adapted and translated into various languages. Some of his most famous tales include Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Puss in Boots which were based on traditional folk stories, with his own twist to them.
Perrault was well advanced in years before he began writing down his famous tales, beginning in 1695, when he was 67. This slim volume included his versions of many stories that were already widespread. He published Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals (Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé), subtitled Tales of Mother Goose (Les Contes de ma Mère l’Oye) in 1697. It became at once the literary sensation of its day.
Of all his abundant literary production in verse and prose (odes, poetry, essays, etc) these stories for children are his only works still read today, and he is often credited as the founder of the modern fairy tale genre.
He lived for six years to enjoy the fame gained by the fairy stories, dying aged 75 in May 1703.