Préchac, Jean de (1676–?), French writer. Author of numerous novels, Préchac published Contes moins contes que les autres (Tales Less Tale‐like than the Others, 1698) at the height of the ‘vogue’ of fairy tales in late 17th‐century France. Reflecting Préchac's excellent court connections, his ‘Sans Parangon’ (‘Without Equal’) and ‘La Reine des fées’ (‘Queen of the fairies’) are panegyrics of Louis XIV's court. ‘Without Equal’ contains an allegory about many of the high points of Louis's reign, including the construction of Versailles, which is erected by fairy magic; and ‘La Reine des fées’ describes the banishment of bad fairies and the praise of good fairies, who are none other than prominent aristocratic women of Préchac's day. These tales are extreme examples of ways the fairy‐tale form could be used to promote official propaganda. Préchac is the first French writer of fairy tales to make such explicit and sustained allusions to historical reality, a technique frequently employed during the 18th century (albeit more often in the satirical mode).
— Lewis C. Seifert
