In this storybook, I am
retelling several French fairy tales by Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy. In my
opinion some of the best, but maybe not so well known, writing has come
out of France. The works of Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy is proof of that.
Her stories take you to a whole new world that can only be imagined and
where nothing is impossible.
Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy was born around 1650 in Région
Haute-Normandie in a northern province of France. Although Madame
d'Aulnoy lived nearly four centuries ago, her works continuously speak
across the generations. Madame d'Aulnoy did not begin her literary
career until she was about forty years old, but at that time, she
rapidly became
one of the most popular and influential authors of her time. Madame
d'Aulnoy called some of her works contes de fée, which literally
means tales (contes) of faries (fée). This is where we get the
term fairy tales. However, her fairy tales are not the childhood
stories we might be used to. Madame d'Aulnoy wrote in a rather mature
and lengthy manner so that her stories were not necessarily geared for
children's entertainment.
The three stories I choose for this storybook come from
Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy's book, "The Fairy Tales of Marie-Catherine
d'Aulnoy." The stories included in my storybook are "Princess
Rosette," "Prince Marcassin," "Princess Bell-Etoile." These stories are
obviously tied together by one common thing,
royalty.
"Princess Rosette" tells the story of how truth will always prevail; "Prince Marcassin" tells the story
of how appearances can deceiving; and "Princess Bell-Etoile" tells the
story of how good prevails over evil and deceptive lies can only to
one's demise. Through
these stories, Madame d'Aulnoy
brings the readers into her imagination so that it seems as if
everything is happening right before your eyes.
The four different stories are framed by two fictional twin orphans,
James and Catherine, or at least that's they way I'm telling her
stories. These two children are servants in a castle in southern
France. After tending to the animals and the laundry is
done for the day, the children entertain themselves by snooping around
the castle. James and Catherine love to discover new treasures that lie
hidden and forgotten in the darkest corners of the castle. One of their
favorite things to look for was items that belonged to their parents.
The children know very little of their parents, except that they too
were servants in the same castle. From time to time, James and
Catherine would stumble upon something that belonged to their parents
like an apron or an old pipe. But one item in particular was about to
change their lives forever.
Before their parents died, they wrote a letter to the twins describing
where they might find a special book that could show them things beyond
their imaginations. Their parents wrote how the book must be hidden in
fear that the King would find it and have it destroyed, for it was
filled with secrets he surely would not want revealed.
After stumbling upon the letter one late afternoon, James and Catherine
ventured to the farthest, darkest tower in the castle. And that's where
James found it, hidden in the corner between two stones. As soon as
James and Catherine opened the book, a soft voice greeted them. That's
when the children realized this was no ordinary book at all. In fact,
it was an enchanted book and the voice that greeted them was their
great-great-great-great grandmother, Marie-Catherine Bourbon, Queen of
France.
And this is where our story begins— two children, living the lives of
servants and destined for a life of royalty.
