ABSTRACT
Among the fine company of French aristocratic writers who devoted themselves to composing fairytales during the period 1690-1720 Madame d’Aulnoy reigned supreme. She was known as ‘la reine de la féerie’, and her tales enjoyed the widest circulation, not only in French but also in English and German. At least 22 editions in English are known between 1699 and 1799.1 Another 11 followed in the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, individual tales appeared separately, usually in chapbook format, or were included in general collections of fairy tales. However, enthusiasm began to diminish in the course of the twentieth century, and readers who are familiar with Madame d’Aulnoy today are fewer in number. Her former fame has been largely eclipsed by the tales of her contemporary Charles Perrault and by those of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen.2
