The History of Beauty and the Beast. Devonport, England: Samuel and John Keys, [c. 1840].
Tale Summary
This tale of Beauty and the Beast follows the typical narrative arc found in the description of the ATU. The story begins with a very rich merchant who has three daughters and three sons. His youngest daughter is named Beauty because of her beautiful appearance, which drew jealousy from her two older sisters. Unfortunately, the father lost all of his riches, so he set out on a journey to take possession of his property and bring back presents for his three daughters. Beauty only wanted him to bring her back a rose. When he was returning home, he became lost and stumbled upon an empty castle where he stayed the night and enjoyed an extravagant banquet. The next morning, he found roses and gathered a bunch for Beauty, but was then caught by the Beast who ordered that he immediately die or return in three months with his daughter to take his place. Beauty agreed to take his place, but when she met the kind beast, she refused to marry him. Although she would not marry him, the Beast still treated her with extreme kindness, and let her go home to visit her sick father as long as she promised to return in a week. She returned late and found the Beast close to death, then realized she loved him, and agreed to marry him. This broke the enchantment and the Beast became a handsome prince. They were married and lived happily ever after, while her older jealous sisters were forced to become statues outside of her palace until they learned from their cruel mistakes.
Fairy Tale Title
The History of Beauty and the Beast
Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)
None listed
Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)Â
None listed
Common Tale TypeÂ
Beauty and the Beast
Tale Classification
ATU 425C
Page Range of TaleÂ
pp. 3-12
Full Citation of Tale
The History of Beauty and the Beast. Devonport, England: Samuel and John Keys, [c. 1840].
Original Source of the Tale
Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve
Tale Notes
This adaptation of Beauty and the Beast is one that highlights an extremely compassionate Beast and has an ending that contains a strong sense of justice for the two sisters who treated Beauty horribly. In this version, Beauty and the Beast live happily ever after she returns from visiting her father because she realizes she love the Beast which breaks his enchantment. After the Beast becomes a handsome prince, a fairy appears to make Beauty a queen and to make her sisters pay for their malice and injustice towards Beauty by turning them into statues at the gates of Beauty’s palace. They will remain statues until they become aware of the mistakes they have made, while Beauty and the Beast live a long and happy life. This version is also special because it is a cheap version of print published without an author or the original source. It is printed extremely simply, and only sold for a penny. Samuel and John Keys published countless other fairytales, as seen on the back of the book, all for a penny each.
Research and Curation
Anonymous ITAL 4600 student, 2020
Book TitleÂ
The History of Beauty and the Beast
Book Author/Editor(s)Â
Illustrator(s)
None listed
Publisher
Samuel and John Keys
Date Published
c. 1840
Decade PublishedÂ
1840-1849
Publisher City
Devonport
Publisher Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Rights
Public Domain
Digital Copy
Book Notes
None