Before children's stories came to exemplify the French fairy tale, early modern audiences read the works of women writers known as conteuses. From the late seventeenth century through the Revolution, the conteuses published rich, complex tales that were popular in literary salons and elite courtly settings.

"An English translation of fairy tales published by women in seventeenth-century France. Explores themes of love, marriage, sexuality, gender relations, and female education and literacy. Includes works by Catherine Bernard, Catherine Durand, Charlotte-Rose Caumont de la Force, Marie-Jeanne L'hâeritier de Villandon, and Henriette-Julie de Castelnau, comtesse de Murat, with brief biographies of the authors"--