#david stone

An Amaryllis Blooming

French Fairy Treasures

Around the World Treasures: Famous French Fairy Tales by the father of the French fairy tale Charles Perrault (1628-1703) and collected and adapted from the original Perrault by David Stone, was published in New York by Frankin Watts Inc., a division of Grolier, in 1959. The book includes The Picture Story of Perrault's Famous French Fairy Tales, illustrated by British artist and teacher Charles Mozley (1914-1991), a book illustrator and designer of posters, book covers, and print. Along with these striking color drawings are black-and-white illustrations depicting key moments within each story. Noel Streatfeild (1895-1986), an English children's book author, provides an introduction to the book. In it, she details the essential moments in Perrault's life that led him to write these stories. According to Streatfeild, before Perrault's Contes, nobody had ever read a fairy tale! Before that, these stories were passed down and enjoyed through oral tradition.

Perrault played a significant role in the literary controversy called the "Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns." At 23, he became a lawyer, following in his father's footsteps, before embarking on a political career, which led him into the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France. Spending time in his court is where Perrault garnered inspiration to write his stories. His simple, unaffected style breathed new life into half-forgotten folk tales. Interestingly, some of his versions influenced the German tales collected by the Brothers Grimm more than a century later.

So, whether you find yourself wondering in the woods like Little Red Riding Hood or dreaming of glass slippers like Cinderella, Perrault's timeless tales remain a delightful part of our childhood imagination, capturing the magic and wonder of storytelling for generations to come!

-Melissa, Special Collections Graduate Intern