Fun Facts Friday: Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault (12 January, 1628 – 15 May, 1703) was a French author and writer. He is known for creating the fairy tale literary genre.

Books by Charles Perrault*

Charles Perrault was born in Paris to a wealthy family of merchants. He had the privilege of attending excellent schools and to study law.
Perrault’s father was also a lawyer and member of Parliament. He joined becoming a professional public servant.
Always civic-minded, he helped create the Academy of Sciences and restore the Academy of Painting. In 1663 he was appointed to the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres as secretary to Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Minister of Finance.
Being in the protective realm of Colbert helped Perrault very much, and he became interested in the court of King Louis XIV. His patron helped him get elected to the Académie française in 1671
When King Louis XIV was building his gardens in Versailles, it was Perrault’s idea to build 39 fountains representing the fables of Aesop.
Never completely giving up writing, Charles Perrault wrote operas, essays, and stories.
Colbert forced Perrault to retire in 1682, when he was 56 years old. Jules-Armand, Marquis d’Ormoy replaced Perrault, he also happened to be Colbert’s son.
Charles Perrault decided he would start writing epic poetry, and about 10 years later, in 1695 at age 67 he dedicated himself to his children and published Stories or Tales from Times Past, with Morals: Tales of Mother Goose in which he took European popular stories. He wasn’t the only one, fairy tale stories were popular for almost ten years.
To this way we read his stories, several are almost the same as he wrote them, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, and more
Since he was a serious man of letters, he published the collection under the name of his youngest son, Pierre Darmancourt.