The Story of the Beauty and the Beast: The Original Classic French Fairytale

by Rachel Louise Lawrence (Adapter), Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, James Robinson Planché (Translator)

Think you know the story of 'Beauty and the Beast'? Think again!

This book contains the original tale by Madame de Villeneuve, first published in 1740, and although the classic elements of Beauty giving up her freedom to live with the Beast, during which time she begins to see beyond his grotesque appearance, are present, there is a wealth of rich back story to how the Prince became cursed and revelations about Beauty's parentage, which fail to appear in subsequent versions.

If you want to read the full story of Beauty and the Beast, look no further than this latest unabridged edition...

[Folklore Type: ATU-425C (Beauty and the Beast)]

Genres: Classics, Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Beauty and The Beast, Fairy Tales, French Literature

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1740

About the author

British author who translates and adapts folklore and fairytales from original texts and puts them back into print, particularly the lesser-known British & Celtic variants.

Since writing her first story at the age of six, Rachel has never lost her love of writing and reading. A keen wildlife photographer and gardener, she is currently working on several writing projects.

Why not follow her?
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Reviews

[Marquise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite version, for two reasons mainly: Belle is better characterised here, as the tale is longer, and her life and activities at Beast's palace are likewise better described, and at length. And secondly, because Beast is really beastly, and it takes longer for them to come to understand each other and fall in love.

My major quibbles are located by the end, as I wasn't very fond of a certain reveal about Belle and found her lack of reaction to losing her beloved Beast to a run-of-the-mill hottie prince rather passive and jarring for its absence. I'd have loved that the reveal had been scrapped and she'd expressed dismay at the transformation, as she did in Beaumont's version.

On the other hand, the Prince isn't so "placeholder"a character in this version; he has a backstory, and the reason why he became a beast is explained much better here, and it's somewhat disturbing! Poor Beast, that's one rubbishy godmother to have, and good for him that he was able to end up happier.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, you probably know the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, which is based on the most popular B&B telling by Beaumont. But Beaumont abridged an earlier version, this version, by Villeneuve, and boy did she abridge it!

At first I thought the 2 were fairly similar, and the only things Beaumont cut Beauty's dreams of an unknown prince and a menagerie of monkeys and talking birds that followed her around. And then we get to the end, where the beast is transformed, they're going to marry, and that's it, right? The end. Wrong. You're not even halfway done with the story, because then the Prince's mother tells her story, then the prince his story, then the fairy tells her story, then the king, and then the merchant father shows up. So I kept thinking I was almost done, and then, nope! This is a solid novella-length story.

B&B is not my favorite fairy tale, though I do love animal transformations fairy tales. Too much 'this is what good girls are like, who are also highborn, by the way.'

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I can hardly believe this is a children's story written in 1740. The archaic words and heavy details make for a rather difficult read even for an adult.

I'm assuming most people know at least a small amount of information on Beauty and The Beast. A charming young girl is being held hostage in a castle by an ugly beast. Right!?! Nope, not entitely true. That was Walt Disney's romantic version, but not exactly Madame de Villeneuve's version.

In this original version, there are Kings and Queens, Prince and Princesses, and wicked and righteous fairies. However, only a small part of this tale revolves around Beauty being held in a castle with the Beast, but an even greater part takes us back to the history of the lineage of both parties.

While the language is beautiful and the prose poetic, I still longed to peruse the picturesque and dreamy Disney Version.

[Katherine Cowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scholars have demonstrated that the beauty and the beast story--and various reincarnations of it--has existed for thousands of years. So when we talk about the "original version" of this and other fairy tales what we really mean is the first time it was written down in some semblance of the modern way we tell the story.

Madame de Villeneuve's version is often known as "the original" beauty and the beast story (using the definition above). It is both wondrous and ridiculously tedious. Honestly, if you want to read the "original" I'd recommend starting with the abridged version of this book, which was published in 1756 (16 years later) and captures all the awesome elements of the story in a short, Brothers Grimm style way. You can even read and download it for free on Project Gutenberg. And then, if you're brave, read this version.

The first half of this book is absolutely fascinating. We get great details into Belle's life, and that of her family (she has both brothers and sisters). She's fleshed out as a character, and we can sense her motivations and goodness, as well as the motivations of her father and sisters. It's as much of a sibling story as it is a love story. There's some awesome dialogue and cool descriptions, as well as a subtle critique of the treatment of women. Some of the archetypal fairy tale elements--like the magic mirror and the curse of a fairy/sorceress, as well as a magical transformation from beast to man--are found in this version.

There's also some really crazy magic going on, with the Beast split, in a sense, into two selves. The charismatic prince that can appear in her dreams and then the uncouth Beast of the day. The only Beauty and the Beast adaptation that I've read that holds true to this is Rosamund Hodge's Cruel Beauty.

What makes it tedious is the sheer amount of description. You'll read ten pages about the different plays that Belle watches through the mirror. And then another ten pages about her wandering around this section of the castle, getting bored or entertained with such and such thing. It's cool worldbuilding, and there's some very creative, inventive stuff, but it loses sight of the story and gets bogged down.

The main story itself is actually only the first half of the book. The second half I shall title, "In which a fairy decides to tell two very, very long stories which tell us everything about both the Beast and Belle's past, and reinforce nobility as the ultimate rulers of society by making Belle a long lost princess from a faraway kingdom." It reads as a separate book, and has some high points and interesting things. From the standpoint of a modern reader, it's not what we expect from a novel--nowadays and author can't just spend half the book on backstory that has been tagged on at the end. But the magic is interesting and Villeneuve presents an elaborately developed system of fairies.

If you're deeply interested in Beauty and the Beast, then read this book. If not, save yourself some trouble and read the abridged version.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a different story from the shorter retellings we're used to! Especially regarding the prince's backstory, which has kind of a Sleeping Beauty thing going on, what with the powerful fairy scorned and all. And then there's this whole twist regarding Beauty's identity...

[Hayley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I give up. Terrible book and I refuse to read anymore

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Review:
This was very different from the Disney version. Not dark, just completely different. I feel like Beauty and Beast's love story was only kind of a footnote in the story. They hardly had any interaction, and half the book was taken up by characters explaining the background and how all these curses and things came to be. But, to be honest, I thought the stuff about the fairies was actually more interesting. I had the same problem with it that I have with most classics though: too many words. Fifty words used when five would've worked just as well. Anyway, I don't think this was terrible, but it really didn't leave much of an impression on me.

*Rating: 2.5 Stars // Read Date: 2018 // Format: Ebook*

Recommended For:
Anyone who likes classics and fairy tales.

More Reviews @ Metaphors and Moonlight

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The core of the story was intriguing and beautiful.

[Tayla Potayta · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Disney version of Beauty and the Beast is pretty different from the original story by Madame De Villeneuve. In the Disney film, Beauty only has her father. While in the original book she is one of many siblings. Her two eldest sisters reminded me of Cinderella's step sisters. They were very selfish, and only cared for materialistic items while beauty seemed to act like Cinderella and tried to cheer up her family and ask for love and health. Another big change was the Beast. In the Disney movie "he has the head structure and horns of a buffalo, the arms and body of a bear, the eyebrows of a gorilla, the jaws, teeth, and mane of a lion, the tusks of a wild boar and the legs and tail of a wolf." In the book Beast is more of an elephant/boar crossover with his long trunk and tusks, while being hairy like a boar. There is also talk of the Beast having scales. Instead of starting out poor, like the movie, the book shows the family as being very rich until a fire happens and destroys everything they have. In the movie Belle/Beauty is looking for her father who then finds the castle to then trade places with him. However, in the book the Beast offers her father a chance to switch places with one of his daughters, but it cannot be a trap, they have to know what they are walking into. And finally, instead of the Beast and Beauty bickering the whole time to then fall in love, the book shows the Beast loving her from the beginning and asking every night for marriage. And Beauty finally realizes she loves him and agrees to marry him which breaks the curse, instead of the kiss in the movie.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funniest thing is that I thought the Beaumont version was the original for a long time so much to my surprise, I found this version from Villeneuve which was published in 1740 is actually the original, thanks to my Serial Reader app while looking for something to read.

Reading it via Serial Reader was great because I was provided daily snippets to read and this way was able to visualize the imagery a lot better and at an easy pace. This version has Belle as one of 12 children, fairies, intrigue, and the Beast showcased as more of a noble than a monster as in other adaptations.

I think my favorite character is still the Beast - Written here is more human - he's constantly attempting to make Belle comfortable through his actions while both knowing that she was a kept prisoner. In Villeneuve's version, he's more of a conversationalist, although all conversations leading him to ask her the same repetitive question which leads to her constant refusal. This doesn't change his attitude of her or how he treats her - there is no anger or disappointment but there is respect there as he allows her to say what's on her mind even at refusing him.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very different from the Disney version that I love so much. It was a little wordy in spots, and the background story being told toward the end slowed down the flow of the story for me. But, that being said, this was a very enjoyable read! It was fun to read the original story that inspired the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, and to find the elements that were shared between the two stories!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far the story is much richer than the Disney version.

[Marja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a cool story but I didn't like the writing style. It was all about telling not showing. The first half was from Beauty's side of the story and it felt pretty repetitive and dull. I also found Beauty to be an annoying Mary Sue. For me the story picked up in the second half when I learned the Beast's side of the story. I liked that I got to know everyone's side of the story but the story proceeded in a clunky manner and the fact that no one had names, they were just fairies and queens, made it a bit difficult to follow who they were talking about. The language was also super archaic and complicated and it made following the story quite hard.

I've seen the Disney animation from the 90's and it was far more entertaining than this. As far as I remember, I actually rooted for Beauty and Beast, but I didn't feel anything between them in this story. I'm still glad I read it, but it left me hoping for something more.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The original version of Beauty and the Beast is very long, with much detail about Beauty’s life in the Prince’s castle, the wonder she encounters there etc. More recent retellings of the story generally have illustrations showing the beast as like a bear or a lion or something similar, but this version describes him as having scales and a trunk like an elephant’s, so rather more alien than other versions. In this version also the breaking of the enchantment by Beauty promising to marry the beast occurs only about halfway through the story. The rest of the book is taken up by a long and rambling account of how the Prince came to be enchanted, who his family was, who Beauty’s family was etc etc. I feel that the subsequent retell era were wise to abridge the story and leave out most of the second half which is, quite frankly, rather dull. Sometimes abridgements can be an improvement, and that is certainly the case with Beauty and the Beast.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the oldest known version of Beauty and the Beast written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740. This book was adapted by Rachel Louise Lawrence and translated by James Robinson Planche.

I LOVED this book! I was so captivated I could hardly put it down, and I finished it in one day. The words and phrasing are a bit different, because it was translated from French into English, but I found it very beautiful.

Chapter 10 tells the back story of how the Prince became a beast and some things about Beauty's past. That chapter is very convoluted and tricky to follow at times, but I kept at it because I wanted to know the whole story. I might be skipping that chapter in future readings. Oh yes, I WILL be re-reading this story.

I got it for $1.99 on the kindle. If you want to read it make sure you get a version with 148 pages or so. This lengthier version was abridged, rewritten, and published by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, to produce the shorter version most commonly retold.

Due to the many difficult/unusual words in this version it may be better for younger kids to stick with the Beaumont version. I read a pretty nice edition by Beaumont which I will write a review on next.

This was my "book with antonyms in the title" for the 2015 ultimate reading challenge by popsugar.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never before had reason to search out and read the “original” version of this well-known tale, and I was really missing out. Modern day superhero stories have nothing on the characters and great battles between good and evil in the Fairyland depicted here. If there is a film version that takes this angle, I haven’t seen it, but I sure would like to. (This is an excellent translation to read also, btw)

[Mary Arkless · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a newer adaptation of Beauty and the Beast as written by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740 and translated by James Robinson Planche. The basic story is the same as Disney and others have told, but they have left out much. It is, of course, of its time. The author is very enthusiastic about her tale, and it abounds with royalty, fairies, riches, magnificent creatures, and magic.

[Literary Ames · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/f...

[Ann-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so enjoyed reading about "the wonderful adventures of Beauty and the Beast." It starts out familiar enough, like the classic fairy tale that we all know which was adapted from this, and then it transforms into almost another magical story by the end. It's an enchanting book with swoon-worthy moments such as these:

"He had already, by tender glances, expressed to her his feelings, and was about to confirm with his lips, in the most touching language, what his eyes had spoken..."

"To see you was instantly to love you."

I read this as a buddy read with my friend Dominique and we were both under its charming spell. Loved it!

After our buddy read, we did a double feature of two Beauty and the Beast film adaptations:

La Belle et la Bête (1946)



This is a beautifully surreal film that plays out like a poetic dream in black and white. For the most part it sticks kinda close to the original story until the ending. I prefer the book's happily ever after.

(Fun trivia: Stevie Nicks' Beauty and the Beast song was inspired by Jean Cocteau's film.)

Beauty and the Beast (1991)



I love this film so much! It's my favorite adaptation with the library of my dreams.



But I will say that the character development for Beast and his human self in the book is more insightful and satisfying.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

***SPOILERS*** This book was so far from what I expected going into it, but I loved it?? Beauty and the Beast is my favourite Disney movie, so I had always meant to read the story that inspired it, but hadn't until now. The first half was somewhat slow getting into, a bit confusing at parts, but those all get explained later. It's the half way point where it really picks up and there is just twist after twist. I breezed through it at the end. I loved the Fairy world, reading about the Beast's backstory really fleshed him out too and had me feeling really bad for him?? and the story given to Beauty is one that just shocked me at every turn. The only thing I'd say was a negative was that towards the end the chapters are mostly dialogue for 20 pages each chapter. It's a lot of explaining and telling, it feels more as if the author is just rambling to the reader about the plot and cool backstory than it being fleshed out. Beauty didn't really have much chance to react to being told her own story which gave a bit of a disconnect. ALSO THEY WERE COUSINS.

[Megan Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was quite entertaining but I tell you what....

Never would I have imagined the differences between the original tale and the tale we all know due to Walt Disney.

🔹️ Beauty was Beast's cousin
🔹️ Beauty was actually the daughter of a king and was taken as a baby and placed into a lower family, to be hidden, after their own baby died. The faux family never knew as Beauty was placed by a Fairy.
🔹️ Beauty's mother was a fairy
🔹️ Beast was transformed because a Fairy, who had taken care of him his whole life, wanted to marry him, and both he and his mother refused.
🔹️ Beast had a snout like an elephant
🔹️ No Gaston or Le Fou
🔹️ No enchanted household items. AKA No Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, etc.
🔹️ The Enchanted Mirror was actually multiple doors that could be opened, showing a different location
🔹️ Beast was never mean and did not have anger issues. He barely even spoke to Beauty as part of the curse prohibited him from speaking of it for risk of cementing his fate.

[Bar · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know, at first I clicked 2 stars but realized immediately that it wasn't even an okay tale!

I skimmed the second half of the story that apparently has all the family background drama (no regrets - apparently they are first degree cousins in this one and the Beauty is miraculously a secret princess!) because how much I was disappointed by lack of ANY relationship between the Beauty and the Beast.

As beastly as the Disney!Beast acts at first, at least he spends lots of quality time with Belle, and Disney!Belle unlike this Beauty is 100% lovable. In this adaptation there was nothing to ship, and the heroine was annoying and quite unlikable for me. Sure, her sisters were worse... But that didn't make the Beauty anywhere near interesting.

I don't know if de Villeneuve's story was originally so bland or is the adaption to blame, but wow. This book was BAD.

[Jennifer Hoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read!

I never read the original Beauty and the Beast story and I heard enough about it that I was curious. I am glad I read this. It is a longer version with more of a back story but the themes of forgiveness, seeing with your heart, and not judging others by their looks are still there. The focus is more on true love, free will, and generosity of spirit than later versions which enhances the story and makes the reader root for this beauty and her beast and celebrate their happily ever after.

[Krisz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, not the original - as the back matter says, RLL rewrote Mme Villeneuve's version to some extent. Which is not understandable, really, when I want the original one and when the cover explicitly says so.
As for the story, indeed the background story is quite an other tale, and I envisage how a great story this would do when written properly. The technique that everything is *told* at the end could be changed to delivering bits and clues throughout, so the reader can piece things together.
So my 3 stars go two ways. I am frustrated that this isn't the real thing, but then if it isn't that, why wasn't it rewritten properly?

[Diana Ku · Rating 3 out of 5]

beauty and the beast is my favorite disney story so i had to read the original.
it was such a unique experience and eye opening story (by that i mean my eyes would widen).
i was extremely lost in the end because it was just a monologue of what happened , what’s happening, why it happened, back story, who did what and why etc etc and it all just became mush in the end.
3 stars bc i enjoyed the book but not 4 bc i was so lost in the end i accepted defeat and finished the book wo rereading it to attempt at comprehending what i just read.

[Kylie Combs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a little shocked that this is the first time I read the original story! I’ve had a gorgeous copy for years, but it was so fancy that I never felt comfortable reading it (which is silly, I know). I knew there would be differences from the renditions I know and love, but I wasn’t disappointed at all. I do wish there had been more clear descriptions of the Beast, or any of them had actually names, but I was delighted to find out that this was in fact a fairy tale! And one with so many happily ever afters!

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting original of a well known and loved story

If you love good old fashioned virtues and upright morals, you will love
this story! The dialogue does get rather lengthy half way through the book, but this does not take away from the overall dreamlike shimmer of this ancient tale. Really adds so much to the later Disney version.

[Debs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my life, so loquacious! Mind is blown! Absolutely ridiculous, hilariously so. There are some absolute dickheads and some people with quite severe undiagnosed mental health conditions in this one. At least the ending was positive enough. Jeez.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ummm just like you shouldn’t flood the beginning of your story with details, you shouldn’t do it to the back either. And that’s what happened here. Wow, this one was a bit ehh for me. Just above a two star because of some fun passages.