Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault (January 12, 1628 - May 16, 1703) was a French author.

Charles Perrault was born in Paris, France to a wealthy bourgeois family. He attended the best schools and studied law before embarking on a career in government service. He took part in the creation of the Academy of Sciences as well as the restoration of the Academy of Painting. When the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres was founded in 1663, Perrault was made secretary for life.

At the age of 55 he tried his hand at children's literature and in 1697 he wrote Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals, with the subtitle: Tales of Mother Goose. Its publication made him very popular and marked the beginnings of a new literary genre, the fairytale. He used images from around him such as the Chateau Ussé for Sleeping Beauty and in Puss-in-Boots, the Marquis of the Chateau d'Oiron.

Perrault's most famous stories are still in print today and have been made into operas, plays, movies and animated motion pictures by Disney Studios. Some of Perrault's best known stories are:

• Blue Beard[?]
• Sleeping Beauty
• Little Red Riding Hood[?]
• Puss-in-Boots[?]
• Cinderella
• Little Thumb[?]
• Donkey Skin[?]

Charles Perrault died in Paris.