Charles Perrault was a French writer from Paris and an early member of the Académie Française. He was a pioneer in the fairy tale genre, publishing "Stories or Tales from Past Times" in 1697. His most popular fairy tales include "Bluebeard", "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Puss in Boots", and "Sleeping Beauty". Perrault's works have had multiple adaptations in film, television, and theatre.
Born in 1628 to an affluent bourgeois family, Perrault was the seventh child of Pierre Perrault and Paquette Le Clerc. His notable brothers were Pierre Perrault, a pioneering hydrologist, and Claude Perrault, an architect, physician, and anatomist.
Perrault was trained in law but chose a career in government service. He was appointed as the first secretary of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1663 and served as an administrative aide to the influential minister of state Jean-Baptiste Colbert.
In 1669, Perrault proposed the construction of 39 fountains in the labyrinth of Versailles, each representing one of Aesop's fables. The fountains were constructed between 1672 and 1677, and Perrault published a guidebook for the labyrinth.
Perrault wrote a book in defense of the opera "Alceste" in 1674, which led to the "Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns" between traditionalists and modernists. He became a leader of the modernist faction.
In 1682, Perrault faced mandatory retirement from his government posts at the age of 56. He made his first attempt to write "serious" epic poetry in 1686, but the poem was poorly received.
Perrault experimented with the fairy tale genre by writing "La Marquise de Salusses ou la Patience de Griselidis" in 1691, "The Ridiculous Wishes" in 1693, and "Donkeyskin" in 1694. These stories were more warmly received by his associates.
In 1695, Perrault compiled the first edition of "Stories or Tales from Past Times", which became widely popular. He published his translation of Gabriele Faerno's fables in 1699, which was popular in England during the 18th century.
Perrault died in 1703 at the age of 75. Most of his works fell out of fashion during the decades following his death, but his fairy tales remained in print and have remained popular for centuries, ensuring an enduring fame for Perrault.
