Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force or Mademoiselle de La Force (1654–1724) was a French novelist and poet. Her best-known work was her 1698 fairy tale ''Persinette'' which was adapted by the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

in 1812 as the story ''

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of ''Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of ''Persinette ...

''. She was the daughter of François de Caumont de La Force (eighth son of Marshal de La Force), marquis de Castelmoron and of Marguerite de Viçose. Raised as a Huguenot Protestant, she converted to Catholicism in 1686 and received a pension of 1000 ''

écu The term ''écu'' () or crown may refer to one of several French coins. The first ''écu'' was a gold coin (the ''écu d'or'') minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. ''Écu'' (from Latin ''scutum'') means shield, and the coin ...

s'' from

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

. Like other famous women writers of the 17th century, she was named a member of the Academy of the Ricovrati of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. Her first novels were in the popular vein of "histoires secrètes", short novels recounting the "secret history" of a famous person and linking the action generally to an amorous intrigue, such as ''Histoire secrete de Bourgogne'' (1694), ''Histoire secrète de Henri IV, roi de Castille'' (1695), ''Histoire de Marguerite de Valois, reine de Navarre'' (1696). She had a long affair with the much younger Charles Briou, finally managing to marry him secretly with the king's permission, but her family and his father intervened to have the marriage annulled. In 1697, due to gossip and scandalous rumors about her, the king forced Mademoiselle de La Force to take to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbey of Gercy-en-Brie or risk losing her pension, and it was from here that she wrote her memoirs: ''Pensées chrétiennes de défunte de Mlle de La Force''. She is also well known for participating in the 17th century vogue of '' contes des fées'' along with

Henriette-Julie de Murat Henriette-Julie de Murat (1668 in Paris – 9 September 1716 in Château de la Buzardière) was an aristocratic French writer of the late 17th century. Life She most likely spent most of her childhood in Paris. In 1691 she married Nicholas de Mu ...

, Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy, Marie-Jeanne Lhéritier, and

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...

. She wrote ''Les Contes des Contes'' (1698) and ''Les Contes des Fées''. These works included the tale '' Fairer-than-a-Fairy''.Zipes, 15 Her novels had a great deal of success in Europe in the 18th century. Mademoiselle de La Force is featured as a main character in

Kate Forsyth Kate Forsyth (born 3 June 1966) is an Australian author. She is best known for her historical novel ''Bitter Greens'', which interweaves a retelling of the ''Rapunzel'' fairy tale with the true life story of the woman who first told the tale, ...

's ''Bitter Greens''; a fairy-tale retelling of the ''Rapunzel'' tale.

Works

Fairy tales

* ''La Bonne Femme'' (The Good Woman) * ''La Puissance d'Amour'' * ''Le Pays des Délices'' * ''L'Enchanteur'' (The Enchanter) * ''

Persinette "Persinette" is a French literary fairy tale, written by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force, published in the 1698 book ''Les Contes des Contes.'' It is Aarne–Thompson type 310, The Maiden in the Tower, and a significant influence on the Germ ...

'' * ''Plus Belle que Fée'' (Fairer-than-a-Fairy) * ''Tourbillon'' * ''Vert et Bleu'' (Green and Blue)

References

Sources

*Dandrey, Patrick, ed. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le XVIIe siècle.'' Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1996.
Les Contes des Contes
Premier Tom
Contes Mademoiselle Force

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caumont La Force, Charlotte-Rose de 1654 births 1724 deaths French children's writers French women novelists Collectors of fairy tales 17th-century French women writers 17th-century French writers 17th-century French novelists French nobility French women children's writers Gascony Women science fiction and fantasy writers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism Women folklorists