La Belle et La Bête - Beaumont’s A French Fairy Tale or Beauty and the Beast Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont first published Beauty and the Beast in 1756, as ‘a tale for the entertainment of juvenile readers.’ It first appeared under the title of La Belle et La Bête in response to the earlier, much longer version of the story by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (1695 – 1755), which first appeared in 1740.
Although similar in the overall plot, Beaumont changed many aspects of Villeneuve’s original, making it more suitable for younger readers. Much of the lengthy back story of Belle and Beast was omitted as were many of the characters. It is also worthy to note that the urban opening and the social class of the characters was highly unusual in fairy tales of the time and therefore occupies a unique space in folkloric storytelling. This ability of Beaumont, to adapt and re-appropriate pre-existing narratives, has ensured the tale’s continued popularity – with her version still the best-loved variant to this day. 🖱️ https://www.pookpress.co.uk/beaumont-beauty-beast/
La Belle et la Bête (1946 film) Beauty and the Beast 👇 📽️ 👇


















