Old-Time Stories

Charles PerraultProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.3

Word count: 217K words
Chapters: 22

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Old-Time Stories by Charles Perrault Author: Perrault, Charles, 1628-1703, Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Feb 27, 2010

Editor's review

Old-Time Stories collects classic fairy tales compiled by Charles Perrault and is a primary source for understanding the Western folk tale tradition. Perrault's versions retain the concise rhythm and moralizing tone of oral narrative; compared with later adaptations softened over time, they show more of the stories' original appearance and period attitudes. The English translation is plain and easy to read, suitable as an introductory text for comparative literature and fairy-tale studies, and also for parents and children to read together and then discuss the logic of reward and punishment and gender roles in the stories. While reading, note the episodes later altered or removed by adaptations such as Disney's, and consider how different eras made different choices about the same stories. One caution: some stories carry old-era punitive attitudes, so parents reading with children should offer appropriate explanation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the origins of Western fairy tales and the evolution of folk stories
English learners who need easy English reading material
Parents who want to read with their children and discuss the stories' meaning
Students of comparative literature and children's literature

Not a good fit for

Young readers expecting richly illustrated, beautifully designed picture books
Those who only want modern, softened adaptations
Readers sensitive to old-era moralizing content

Reading tips

Read through once to feel the narrative rhythm, then choose the pieces that differ most from familiar adaptations for close comparison.
Readers with basic English can work through each story closely, inferring unfamiliar words from context rather than looking up every one.
When reading with children, pause at the end and let them guess the outcome before comparing it with the original.
Use background materials on Perrault's life and seventeenth-century French society to understand the moralizing intent of the stories.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Are these stories very different from the fairy tale versions common today?

Quite different. Perrault's versions are shorter and often end with explicit moral lessons; some episodes are more direct and severe than later adaptations, for example in their depiction of punishment and danger, which was not softened. Reading them in comparison clearly shows how different eras made different choices about the same stories.

How difficult is the English? What level of learner is it suitable for?

The translation is plain, with short sentences and direct narration, making it a relatively easy English read. Learners with a basic vocabulary can finish it with the help of context, and it works well as extensive reading for building language intuition.

Is it suitable for reading directly to young children?

It should not be read directly to young children without explanation. Some pieces contain punishment, danger, or death and carry the severe attitudes of an older era. Parents should read through it first, select pieces, and explain and guide the content when reading together.

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About the author

Charles Perrault Author · French · 1628–1703

Charles Perrault (1628–1703) was a French writer and poet, a member of the Académie française, and a leading figure of the Moderns in the seventeenth-century Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns. In 1697 he published Tales of Passed Times (Histoires ou contes du temps passé), which includes such well-known tales as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Puss in Boots, and which established the fairy tale as a literary genre. Drawing on oral folk tales, he retold them in clear, concise prose that preserves both the wonder and the moral instruction of the originals while adding a touch of salon elegance. Translated into many languages, these tales spread widely across Europe and deeply influenced later fairy-tale writing.