BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Beaumont, Marie LePrince de; Cocteau, Jean; Knight, Hilary

ISBN 10: 0671707205 / ISBN 13: 9780671707200

Published by Simon and Schuster, New York, 1990

Lovely new edition of Beaumont's classic fairy tale, inscribed by illustrator Hilary Knight, with a brief afterword by Cocteau on the themes of secret disappointment and the "pangs of hopeless love." 13'' x 9.25''. Original glossy pictorial boards backed in green cloth. Pictorial endpapers. In original unclipped ($14.95) dust jacket. Illustrated in color by Knight. Translated by Richard Howard. 35, [1] pages. Inscribed on half-title page: "Best wishes / Hilary Knight." Minor edgewear to boards and jacket. Light toning to jacket verso. Seller Inventory # 48594

Synopsis:

Through her great capacity to love, a kind and beautiful maid releases a handsome prince from the spell which has made him an ugly beast.

From School Library Journal: Grade 1-4-- Poor Beauty! Poor Beast! de Beaumont's popular and highly romantic story of a noble, but hideously ugly beast who wins the love of gentle, kind-hearted Beauty suffers badly from poorly executed illustrations . In Howard's lengthy but smooth and coherent text, the greed and jealousy of Beauty's sisters, the consequences of the family's misfortunes, and the splendors of the Beast's palace are faithfully described in complex, stately language. A slightly ironic tone allows de Beaumont's voice to come through clearly, reflecting her "moralistic" commentary on the hypocrisy and pretentions of the society she knew. While the text is nicely modulated and suited to the story, Knight's illustrations are quite another matter, featuring vapid faces, awkward figures, and uninspired composition. In places, they misrepresent the story and, overall, they destroy any sense of drama or magic that the text provides. Beauty's father, described as "wise," looks merely foolish. The Beast, despite his pivotal importance to the story, is truly unexceptional and fails to evoke any real terror. In fact, the garish, saccharine-sweet colors give the whole book an unpleasant and inappropriately cartoonlike character. Stick with the Mercer Mayer version (Four Winds, 1978). --Linda Boyles, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FL
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Bibliographic Details

Title: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, New York
Publication Date: 1990
Binding: Hardcover
Illustrator: Hilary Knight
Condition: Fine in near fine jacket.
Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: First printing.