The Complete Fairy Tales

The fairy tales of Perrault--stories that are known and loved around the world--are now available in this scintillating paperback edition, with twenty-six stunning illustrations by Gustave Doré. The superb translation by Christopher Betts exactly captures the tone and flavor of Perrault's world, and the delightful spirit of the originals. In addition to the classic prose tales--including The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, Little Red Riding-Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Cinderella, and Hop o' my Thumb--this new translation adds Perrault's tales in verse: a long poem on the subject of Patient Griselda; the notorious Donkey-Skin ; and the comic Three Silly Wishes . Bett's introduction deftly illuminates why in Perrault's hands these humble fairy tales have such great imaginative power, showing how they transmute into vivid fantasies the hidden fears and conflicts by which children are affected--fears of abandonment, conflicts with siblings and parents--and resolve so satisfactorily the problems experienced by children while growing up. The volume also includes appendices on related tales and selected variants, a bibliography, chronology, and notes.

Christopher Betts was a Senior Lecturer in French at the University of Warwick until retirement. He has translated Montesquieu's Persian Letters for Penguin, and Rousseau's Social Contract for OWC.