MASTER CAT or PUSS IN BOOTS



Author:


Charles Perrault

First Edition:


"Le Chat Botté" in Contes de ma mère l'Oye, ou Histoires ou contes du temps passé avec des moralités (Mother Goose Tales), Barbin, 1697.

Main illustrators:


Bour Claverie Devéria Doré Duntze Eidregevicius Franquin Giannini Gigoux Gourlier Johannot Kelek Lorioux Marcellino Merino Mignon Montmoulineix Ross Thomas



In short:


Thanks to his witty cat, a humble boy makes a fortune and ends up marrying a pretty princess, pretending to be Marquis of Carabass.


Selection of edition:


Puss in boots , illustrated by Fred Marcellino and translated by Malcolm Arthur, Giroux, 1990
Puss in boots, retold by Erich Kastner, translated by Richard and Clara Winston, illustrated by Walter Trier, New York, Messner, 1957.
Contes, illustrated by Achille Devéria and Tony Johannot, Mame, 1835.
Contes des fées de Charles Perrault, illustrated by Jean-François Gigoux, 150 etchings, Lecou, 1851.
Contes de Perrault, illustrated by Gustave Doré, 384 etchings, Hetzel, 1862.
Les Contes de Perrault, illustrated by Félix Lorioux, Hachette, 1927.
Le Chat Botté, illustrated by Gérard Franquin, Père Castor-Flammarion, 1979.
Le Chat Botté, illustrated by Tony Ross, Gallimard, 1981.
Le Chat Botté, illustrated by Jean Claverie, Nord-Sud, 1982.
Contes de Charles Perrault, illustrated by Kelek, Hatier, collection "Contes de...", 1986.
Les Grands Contes Célèbres, illustrated by Anne-Marie Martin, Fernand Nathan, 1987, 25,4/33, 142 p.
Le Chat Botté, illustrated by Stasys Eidrigevicius, Nord Sud, 1990.
Le Chat Botté, illustrated by Philippe Mignon, Nathan, 1990.
Le Chat Botté, illustrated by Giannini, Gautier-Languereau, 1990.
Le Chat Botté, illustrated by Fred Marcellino, Gallimard, 1991.
Le Chat Botté, illustrated by Yann Thomas, Fernand Nathan, collection "Le Conte de mon enfance", 1992.
Le Chat Botté, illustrated by José Luis Merino, Epigones, 1996.
Le Chat Botté, illustrated by Sylvie Montmoulineix, Hachette jeunesse, 1996.

Ricochet recommends : "Le Chat botté", in Contes de ma mère l'Oye, by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Gustave Doré, Gallimard, coll. Folio Junior, 1988.



More about Master Cat:



Its origins:


The witty animal who wins a fortune for his master is quite common in popular tradition. In Italy, we can find it in Straparola (1554).

Hero:


A cunning cat wants to avoid being eaten by his poor master. If he makes a fortune for him, he will be saved, so he puts on boots (detail found only in Perrault's) and becomes Master Cat. basing his strategy on lies, he manages to mislead the king and his master gets the hand of the Princess. As a fable character, the cat comes from the same family than the fox, but he is known for being a household pet, thus he plays tricks on everybody but is loyal to his master.

Even more:


Although there's magic happening in the tale, it is the only in Contes de ma mère l'Oye which does not begin with "Once upon a time".
The character of Master Cat evoques the figure of the servant, typically represnted in the Italian Comedy with Scapin or Crispin, who are in the service of miserable masters but manage to improve their living conditions.
This tale, although having two final morals, has been considered unsuitable for children because swindling and tricking are its basis. Perrault was even acused of corrupting his readers but this has not prevented the tale from being a real success: No less than 811 copies sold in France and 402 in England from 1697 and 1975!!