The Sleeping Beauty

The Sleeping Beauty tale first appeared in English in 1729, when Robert Samber translated Charles Perrault’s fairy tale La Belle au bois dormant. 


This particular version of the Sleeping Beauty, published originally in 1919, was written by Charles Seddon Evans, so that Arthur Rackham could illustrate it with silhouette drawings. The author has expanded Perrault’s story and followed the version written by the Brothers Grimm in giving his heroine the name of Briar-Rose and ending with her awakening and betrothal, omitting the wicked mother-in-law who orders her grandchildren to be cooked for super. 


C.S. Evans uses his own personal touches and inventiveness in order to make an old story new and unique. Thus, he describes the christening feast, the many accomplishments of Princess Briar-Rose and invents a comical magician who consults his crocodile oracle and draws funny diagrams on his floor in order to figure out how to break the spell. The ample use of humour and the omission of the wicked mother-in-law makes the story less violent and more appealing to young readers and parents alike.