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Charles Perrault (1628-1703) was a 17th century Frenchman who wrote fairy tales with remarkable sticking power. If it didn't come from Andersen or the Grimms, chances are good that Perrault wrote it... or, at least, wrote it down.

Perrault was already a renowned writer when he turned his hand to fairy tales, and, in 1697, published Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé ("Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals"), but the book subsequently became better known under it's subtitle Les Contes de ma Mère l’Oye a.k.a. Tales of Mother Goose. Note that this is technically the same Mother Goose who is the personification of Nursery Rhyme, but at that time she was still connected to fairy tales. The book was initially published under the name of his son, presumably because he feared criticism for writing in a "childish" genre.

Tales of Mother Goose contains the best known versions (pre-Disney, anyway) of:

Perrault's version of "Little Red Riding Hood" ended in the girl's death, and was superseded by the Grimms' more optimistic version. Likewise, although he wrote "Sleeping Beauty" and "Snow-White and Rose-Red", the Grimm versions are better known.

Many of his stories were based on pre-existing fairy tales, but he was among the first to tell them on paper, especially with a distinctive and elegant style. Others who wrote their own fairy tales in the same period (primarily women) have not had the lasting popularity that Perrault has, with the possible exception of Madame de Villeneuve and Madame LePrince de Beaumont, who between them were responsible for "Beauty and The Beast".

This man is not to be confused with Charles Kuralt, the original host of CBS News Sunday Morning.

Examples of tropes in Perrault's Tales of Mother Goose:

An Aesop: He was fond of appending these to his stories, in rhyme, although sometimes they don't seem to quite match up with the story (the moral for "Bluebeard"? Ladies, don't be too curious. Because living with a serial killer is apparently fine, so long as you don't find out.)
Beauty Equals Goodness
Be Careful What You Wish For
Damsel in Distress
Evil Matriarch: "Sleeping Beauty". It's tough when your mother-in-law is literally an ogress.
Fairy Tale
Family-Unfriendly Violence/Death: Mostly in "Bluebeard", but there may be something of this in the death of the Queen in "Sleeping Beauty".
Happily Ever After
Karmic Jackpot
Love At First Sight
Puss in Boots: Perrault's story is the trope namer.
Rags to Royalty: A male version, in "Puss in Boots".
Rule of Three
Serial Killer: "Bluebeard"
Youngest Child Wins

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 {{creator}}
+[[File:Charles Perrault - Versailles MV 2924.jpg|thumb|350px|Charles Perrault, in 1671.]]
-Charles Perrault (1628--1703) was a 17th century Frenchman who wrote [[Fairy Tale|fairy tales]] with remarkable sticking power. If it didn't come from [[Hans Christian Andersen|Andersen]] or [[The Brothers Grimm (Creator)|the Grimms]], chances are good that Perrault wrote it.
+'''Charles Perrault''' (1628-1703) was a 17th century Frenchman who wrote [[Fairy Tale|fairy tales]] with remarkable sticking power. If it didn't come from [[Hans Christian Andersen|Andersen]] or [[The Brothers Grimm (creator)|the Grimms]], chances are good that Perrault wrote it... or, at least, wrote it down.
 Perrault was already a renowned writer when he turned his hand to fairy tales, and, in 1697, published ''Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé'' ("Tales and Stories of the Past [[An Aesop|with Morals]]"), but the book subsequently became better known under it's subtitle ''Les Contes de ma Mère l’Oye'' a.k.a. ''Tales of Mother Goose''. Note that this is technically the same Mother Goose who is the personification of [[Nursery Rhyme]], but at that time she was still connected to fairy tales. The book was initially published under the name of his ''son'', presumably because he feared criticism for writing in a "childish" genre.
 ''Tales of Mother Goose'' contains the best known versions (pre-Disney, anyway) of:
-* "[[Bluebeard (Literature)|Bluebeard]]"
+* "[[Bluebeard]]"
-* "[[Cinderella (Literature)|Cinderella]]"
+* "[[Cinderella (novel)|Cinderella]]"
-* "[[Donkeyskin (Literature)|Donkeyskin]]"
+* "[[Donkeyskin]]"
-* "[[Hop O My Thumb (Literature)|Hop O My Thumb]]
+* "[[Hop-o'-My-Thumb]]
-* "[[The Ludicrous Wishes (Literature)|The Ludicrous Wishes]]"
+* "[[The Ludicrous Wishes]]"
-* "[[Puss in Boots (Literature)|Puss in Boots]]"
+* "[[Puss in Boots (novel)|Puss in Boots]]"
-Perrault's version of "[[Little Red Riding Hood (Literature)|Little Red Riding Hood]]" ended in the girl's death, and was superseded by the Grimms' more optimistic version. Likewise, although he wrote "[[Sleeping Beauty (Literature)|Sleeping Beauty]]" and "[[Snow White and Rose Red (Literature)|Snow White and Rose Red]]", the Grimm versions are better known.
+Perrault's version of "[[Little Red Riding Hood]]" ended in the girl's death, and was superseded by the Grimms' more optimistic version. Likewise, although he wrote "[[Sleeping Beauty]]" and "[[Snow-White and Rose-Red]]", the Grimm versions are better known.
-Many of his stories were based on pre-existing fairy tales, but he was among the first to tell them on paper, especially with a distinctive and elegant style. Others who wrote their own fairy tales in the same period (primarily women) have not had the lasting popularity that Perrault has, with the possible exception of Madame de Villeneuve and Madame LePrince de Beaumont, who between them were responsible for "[[Beauty and The Beast (Literature)|Beauty and The Beast]]".
+Many of his stories were based on pre-existing fairy tales, but he was among the first to tell them on paper, especially with a distinctive and elegant style. Others who wrote their own fairy tales in the same period (primarily women) have not had the lasting popularity that Perrault has, with the possible exception of Madame de Villeneuve and Madame LePrince de Beaumont, who between them were responsible for "[[Beauty and The Beast]]".
 This man is [[I Thought It Meant|not to be confused with]] Charles ''Kuralt'', the original host of [[CBS]] News [[Sunday Morning]].
 {{examples|Examples of tropes in Perrault's ''Tales of Mother Goose'':}}
-* [[An Aesop]]: He was fond of appending these to his stories, in rhyme, although sometimes they don't seem to quite [[Values Dissonance|match up]] with the story (the moral for "[[Bluebeard (Literature)|Bluebeard]]"? Ladies, don't be too curious. Because living with a serial killer is apparently fine, so long as you don't find out.)
+* [[An Aesop]]: He was fond of appending these to his stories, in rhyme, although sometimes they don't seem to quite [[Values Dissonance|match up]] with the story (the moral for "[[Bluebeard]]"? Ladies, don't be too curious. Because living with a serial killer is apparently fine, so long as you don't find out.)
 * [[Beauty Equals Goodness]]
 * [[Be Careful What You Wish For]]
-* [[Distressed Damsel]]
+* [[Damsel in Distress]]
-* [[Evil Matriarch]]: "[[Sleeping Beauty (Literature)|Sleeping Beauty]]". It's tough when your mother-in-law is literally an ogress.
+* [[Evil Matriarch]]: "[[Sleeping Beauty]]". It's tough when your mother-in-law is literally an ogress.
 * [[Fairy Tale]]
-* [[Family-Unfriendly Violence]]/[[Family-Unfriendly Death|Death]]: Mostly in "[[Bluebeard (Literature)|Bluebeard]]", but there may be something of this in the death of the Queen in "[[Sleeping Beauty]]".
+* [[Family-Unfriendly Violence]]/[[Family-Unfriendly Death|Death]]: Mostly in "[[Bluebeard]]", but there may be something of this in the death of the Queen in "[[Sleeping Beauty]]".
 * [[Happily Ever After]]
 * [[Karmic Jackpot]]
 * [[Love At First Sight]]
 * [[Puss in Boots]]: Perrault's story is the trope namer.
-* [[Rags to Royalty]]: A male version, in "[[Puss in Boots (Literature)|Puss in Boots]]".
+* [[Rags to Royalty]]: A male version, in "[[Puss in Boots (novel)|Puss in Boots]]".
 * [[Rule of Three]]
-* [[Serial Killer]]: "[[Bluebeard (Literature)|Bluebeard]]"
+* [[Serial Killer]]: "[[Bluebeard]]"
 * [[Youngest Child Wins]]
 {{reflist}}
-[[Category:Classic Literature]]
 [[Category:Fairy Tale]]
 [[Category:Authors]]
-[[Category:Charles Perrault]]
 [[Category:Creator]]
+[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
+[[Category:French Authors]]