In this timeless fairy tale, we meet Beauty, a sweet young woman, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Due to her father’s misfortune, Beauty is forced to live in a faraway castle with a Beast, an ugly creature under an evil sorcerer’s spell, as payment for his misdeed. Over time, Beauty realizes that looks can be deceiving and that true love is based on sincerity and honesty.
Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (1711–1780) was the author of Beauty and the Beast and Other Classic French Fairy Tales. In 1746 she left France for London, where she had a successful publishing career. Her version of “Beauty and the Beast” has been retold countless times, both in film and on stage.View all by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont