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What
is the origin of the Cinderella tale? or, Who wrote
Cinderella?
According to fairy tale scholars Iona and Peter Opie, authors
of The Classic Fairy Tales, "Where the story of Cinderella
originated is unknown.. [T]he earliest datable version of
the Cinderella story anywhere in the world occurs in a Chinese
book written about 850-860 AD. The earliest European version
of tale was published in Italy in 1634 according to the Opie's--sixty-three
year's before Perrault introduced the story familiar to most
Americans, "Cinderella, or The Tale of the Little Glass Slipper"
in his Histories or Tales of Past Times in 1697.
How
many Cinderella stories are there?
More than
700 tales have been collected from around the world, according
to the Opies. See our online Multicultural
Cinderella database for a list of many modern retellings.
Where
can I find out more information about the tale?
As mentioned
The Classic Fairy Tale by Iona and Peter Opie, published
in various editions by Oxford University Press, is an excellent
place to start learning more about the history of the Cinderella
tale and how it came into English folklore. The tale is also
discussed in many other sources.
Some of
these references are listed in our Multicultural
Cinderella database. Others can be accessed from your
local public or school library by using the subject heading
Fairy Tales - History and Criticism. A few references
might be found using the subject heading Cinderella (tale)
- History and Criticism but this is a less used term
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