2024-01-12 21:36:15
On January 12, 1628, Charles Perrault was born.
The French writer is mainly recognized for having given literary form to historical children’s stories such as “Little Thumb”, “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Cinderella”.
Charles Perrault was born in Paris, into a bourgeois family, and attended the best schools of the time.
At the exclusive Beauvais school he discovered his facility for dead languages, however he oriented his university education towards law.
At the age of 26 and thanks to the influence of his older brother, he was appointed civil servant to work in the government service.
Immersed in the bureaucracy of a privileged job, he turned to writing and in 1661 published his first book, titled “The Walls of Troy.”
He also wrote odes, poems and works that flattered both the king and the princes, which earned him a life full of honors.
He was secretary of the French Academy and became the protégé of Colbert, famous advisor to Louis XIV.
After continuing to climb positions as a royal official, he was forced to give up his position of privilege to Colbert’s son.
Away from the Academy and at the age of 55, he ventured into children’s literature, beginning to shape what would become his renowned book “Tales of yesteryear.”
The compilation would be published years later, in 1697, subtitled “Tales of Mother Goose” and consisted of eight stories to which Perrault concluded with a moral.
Among the historic titles appeared “Sleeping Beauty in the Forest”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, Puss in Boots”, “Cinderella” and “Little Thumb”.
Several characters Perrault wrote his stories about came from oral tradition. The author gave it literary form and dissemination as fairy tales, which would end up shaping itself as a style of literature.
A pioneer in the publication of characters that became legendary, Perrault wrote 46 works and beyond his impact on children’s literature, the majority are composed of those to the king of France.
He died on May 16, 1703 at the age of 75.
On January 12, 1628, Charles Perrault was born. The story is also news on Radio Perfil. Voiceover by Pita Fortín and script by Nicolás Ziccardi.
by Radio Profile
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