Reading the Oxford edition of The Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault (trans. by Christopher Betts and illust. by Gustave Doré) I was surprised how short it actually was (only 204 pgs. including notes). It's good to point out that none of the stories were created by Perrault himself and come from various sources throughout Europe and possibly elsewhere. Also, it's worth noting he actually, for a man of the 17th Century, cared about women's opinions corresponding with fellow writer Mdm. d'Aulnoy on female issues.

My favorite stories were his versions of Puss in Boots and The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood (even though Disney credits this story when they use more of Tchaikovsky's ballet instead). Also, I liked Ricky the Tuft and Hop o' my Thumb even though I've never heard of them before. Also, some people claim Disney ruins all source martials even though Cinderella is almost the same with some minor addons or takeaways. Little Red Riding-Hood was just too short and Tex Avery seem to get what Perrault was going for surprisingly. ( )

The complete fairy tales of Charles Perrault
Liked hearing of the stories and also about the author who wrote these in the 1670's.
Some of them are quite scary and gruesome and they all come with a moral or two at the end.
Had never heard of Bluebeard and Hop of My Thumb and Donkeyskin.
About the author and translations done are included at the end.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device). ( )

Charles Perrault's fairy tales with a moral at the end of each one along with three additional tales by Mme. Leprince de Beaumont and Mme. Aulnoy are included. Whether the last three are each by both writers or one is by one and two by the other is left unclear in the dust jacket comments. Nor does it say who the "others' are who also translated the stories. The Prefatory Note explains that "The Ridiculous Wishes," "Donkey-Skin" and "Patient Griselda" were originally written in "a rather florid and diffuse verse form" and, hence, not usually included in collections of Perrault's fairy tales; they have been "paraphrased" here by the other translators, who also did the morals. The preface's unattributed author notes that "Patient Griselda" appears in works by Boccaccio and Chaucer. Mme. Leprince de Beaumont wrote "Beauty and the Beast" and Mme. Aulnoy the final two stories.
The reviews in LibraryThing mention illustrations by Dore. This book does not have them. It also does not have comments at the end.
It contains:
The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods
Puss in Boots
Little Tom Thumb
The Fairies
Ricky of the Tuft
Cinderella
Little Red Riding Hood
Blue Beard
The Ridiculous Wishes
Donkey-Skin
Patient Griselda
Beauty and the Beast
The Friendly Frog
Princess Rosette

i didn't realize that perrault had written so few stories. anderson and grimm have huge volumes. it's interesting to see the differences in stories. an interesting history by betts. i chose this book because it was illustrated by dore. we saw his great summer exhibition at the nag this past summer. ( )

I actually read these while I was in France, but I reread a couple of them this week while my online group was discussing them. The online discussion reminded me how dark these stories were, full of violence and terror and unpredictability. The things we face in life, in other words. The things we seek out in books. ( )