This collection brings together the celebrated fairy tales of Charles Perrault, translated during the eighteenth century by Robert Samber and enriched with classic illustrations. The volume opens with a biographical introduction by Thomas Bodkin, detailing Perrault's versatile life as a civil servant, academician, and pioneer of the literary quarrel between the ancients and the moderns, before exploring the origins of his famous stories.
The core of the book features Perrault's timeless prose tales, beginning with Little Red Riding-Hood, where a young girl's naivety leads to tragedy at the hands of a cunning wolf. In The Fairy, a kind girl who speaks flowers and jewels is contrasted with her rude sister who produces toads, illustrating how courtesy shapes human fortune under the guise of magical reward.
Blue Beard presents a chilling tale of female curiosity and forbidden doors, where a terrifying husband's murderous past is uncovered through a blood-stained key, averted only by the desperate watch of sister Anne and the timely arrival of the heroine's brothers. The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood chronicles a hundred-year slumber triggered by a forgotten spindle, broken at last by a courageous prince who awakens both the princess and her entire castle.
The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots follows a remarkably resourceful feline who elevates his impoverished master to the status of a marquis through sheer cunning, tricking mowers, reapers, and a fearsome ogre to secure wealth and a royal marriage. Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper tells of an abused stepdaughter whose kindness and a magical midnight ball lead to her identification through a dropped glass slipper.
Riquet with the Tuft explores the alliance between a hideously ugly prince endowed with wit and a stunning princess lacking intelligence, demonstrating how mutual affection and self-reflection transform perception. Finally, Little Thumb recounts the perilous adventures of seven starving brothers abandoned in a deep forest, where the youngest uses his remarkable cleverness to outwit a terrifying ogre and secure his family's prosperity.
