Tales from Perrault

This sparkling new addition to the distinguished Oxford Illustrated Classics series presents some of the best-loved tales of master storyteller Charles Perrault. The anthology of eleven stories includes such favorites as Sleeping Beauty, Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, Tom Thumb, and Bluebeard, together with some less familiar ones. In this captivating retelling, the tales are set in an ingenious framework which provides an insight into the life and times of Perrault as well as a background to the stories themselves. As a young girl leaves Paris to spend summer in the country, she begs Monsieur Perrault to send her his stories in letters. This he does, enchanting her with tales of fairies and wishes-come-true and making her shiver with stories about wolves, ogres and giants. Folklorist Charles Perrault (1628-1703) first published his stories in France in 1697, and these, translated into English as Tales of Mother Goose, were among the earliest popular versions of many of our fairy tales. The stories in this volume, translated and retold by the late Ann Lawrence, are faithful to the well-loved originals, while the stunning illustrations of Tony James Chance bring them vividly and stylishly to life. ANN LAWRENCE, 1942-1987, was a distinguished writer for children whose books have included There and Back Again, Summer's End, and the Oggy series. TONY JAMES CHANCE is an illustrator who lives in England.