New Google doodle celebrates ‘father of fairytales’ Charles Perrault’s 388th

Charles Perrault is credited with laying the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. “And it is not an unheard thing if the Wolf is thereby provided with his dinner”, Perrault wrote in his story, as quoted by the Telegraph.

According to Google, Perrault, a member of Louis XIV’s French court, did not begin writing his famous stories until after he retired, late in his sixties.

But did you know these famous stories were actually the work of a Frenchman called Charles Perrault?

Once upon a time – well, today actually – Google transformed its logo to celebrate Charles Perrault’s 388th birthday. His narrative Stories or tales from Times Past with Morals or Tales of Mother Goose had eight stories, which included Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella.

With fairy tale ideals as popular as ever today, once upon a time lives on and so does that hope of happily ever after… “The publication of the tales coincides with the rise of the modern novel: they came after Don Quixote and La Princesse de Clèves, but before Robinson Crusoe and Tom Jones”.

Perrault was born in France in 1628, and worked as a government servant before he wrote Fairy Tales.

These stories were retold to everyone from Walt Disney to the Brother Grimm.