The Complete Fairy Tales

by Charles Perrault, Christopher Betts

Overview

Perrault's fairy tales in a scintillating translation, including the less familiar verse tales and with illustrations by Gustave Dore. The introduction explores the imaginative power of the stories and the many interpretations to which they have been subject.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198817970
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/01/2018
Series:	Oxford World's Classics Hardback Collection
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,073,804
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Christopher Betts was a Senior Lecturer in French at the University of Warwick until retirement.

Table of Contents

IntroductionTales in VersePrefaceThe History of GriseldaThree Silly WishesDonkey-SkinStories or Tales of Bygone Times, With Their MoralsThe Sleeping Beauty in the WoodLittle Red Riding-HoodBluebeardPuss in BootsThe FairiesCinderellaRicky the TuftHop o' my Thumb

Editorial Reviews

Perrault's tales are well known (e.g., "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," and "Little Red Riding Hood"), but they are most often reprinted singly within anthologies. This new translation and collection of the tales in one volume is especially useful for serious students of the folk tale, though it is also billed by the publisher as a gift edition. In his strong introduction, retired French professor Betts presents a biography, cultural background, and brief analytical comments, Freudian and otherwise. Three verse tales ("Griselda," "Donkey-Skin," and "Three Silly Wishes") are translated as poetry rather than prose for the first time in English, Betts believes. Explanatory notes deal with problematic cultural and language issues, and an appendix covers Aarne-Thompson-Uther and other classifications and related literature. The 19th-century illustrations by Doré (some of them gruesome) add to the gift quality of this collection, but it is not for the very young, even if read aloud. VERDICT Decidedly scholarly in tone, this will best serve those in an academic context. For the translation alone, it is worthy of purchase, even for libraries already holding a collection of Perrault tales.—Katherine Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh

Library Journal

"Mr. Betts' translation trips lightly off the tongue and Gustave Doré's intricate and beautifully executed illustrations are a perfect match. A brainy but fun read."
—Sacramento Book Review

"Perrault was an iconoclast, a rebel against the tyranny of classical education in the 17th century, who set out to prove that myths based on European folk tales could have as enduring and profound an appeal as the stories of the Greeks and Romans. A new translation of his little book, by Christopher Betts, proves him triumphantly right about that." —Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher