Catherine Durand

Durand, Catherine, née Bédacier, (c.1650–1712/15), French writer. The author of several novels and the creator of the dramatic proverb genre, she wrote three fairy tales: ‘Histoire de la fée Lubantine’ (‘Story of the Fairy Lubantine’), which appeared in her novel La Comtesse de Mortane (The Countess of Mortane), as well as ‘Le Prodige d'amour’ (‘The Miracle of Love’) and ‘L'Origine des fées’ (‘The Origin of Fairies’), both of which appeared in Les Petits Soupers de l'année 1699 (The Little Suppers of 1699). In ‘Le Prodige d'amour’, Durand rewrites the basic plot of Perrault's and Bernard's ‘Riquet à la houppe’ by reversing gender roles. Her tales project a scepticism about love typical of French literature in this period.

— Lewis C. Seifert