French Fairy Tales: Essays on a Major Literary Tradition

This anthology provides a unique opportunity to revisit and deepen our appreciation and understanding of French fairy tales, many of which we can recall with a sense of wonder from childhood. Utilizing her many years of experience as a teacher of fairy tales, Denyse Delcourt carefully selected essays by a variety of distinguished scholars to introduce and analyze the original versions of many French fairy tales published in France between 1691 and 1715. These range from the works of Charles Perrault (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty), to Madame Leprince de Beaumont (Beauty and the Beast), and to the radically different tales of Madame dAulnoy (The Blue Bird, The Green Serpent).

Also including English translations of several French fairy tales by Jack Zipes, this anthology serves as an excellent teaching tool. The student, general reader, and professional alike will enjoy these tales and will be challenged by the most recent, and at times provocative, scholarship on this major literary tradition that continues to influence literature and film today.

Denyse Delcourt is a writer and a medievalist. She is the author of two books. Her novel (Gabrielle au bois dormant), translated in English as Gabrielle and the Long Sleep into Mourning, was inspired by Charles Perraults Sleeping Beauty. She is an associate professor of French at the University of Washington. Since 2000 she has taught a yearly, well-attended class on French Fairy Tales.