AustLit

An influential figure in the 17th-century French literary scene, and member of the Académie Française, Charles Perrault is generally regarded as the author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale. The best known of his stories, which are themselves derived from pre-existing tales, are Le Petit Chaperon Rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), Cendrillon (Cinderella), Le Chat Botté (Puss in Boots), La Belle au Bois Dormant (The Sleeping Beauty) and La Barbe Bleue (Bluebeard).

Perrault's stories, many of which were rewritten by the Brothers Grimm, have been adapted to opera, ballet, pantomimes, burlesques and film. THis includes works by Australian writers and librettists.