I can't sleep & wanted to do a thread on the absolutely bonkers story of The Yellow Dwarf that I read to my daughter from Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy book, but when I looked into where the story came from, it turns out that it traces back to a BADASS EARLY MODERN WOMAN. Thread time!

Madame Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy (1650/1651 -1705) was a French baroness & author of many books. Two of these books were collections of fairy tales. She is credited for coining the term "contes des fées." She also wrote memoirs and histories...ish. Lots of liberties were taken.

D'Aulnoy did some hard time when she & her mum were accused of treason by two guys for speaking out against the King. It is rumored that these dudes were the spurned lovers of the mother & daughter. After 3 years in the Bastille, the ladies were freed & the guys were executed!

This badass lady had quite a life. She left France to escape the king. Some say she was a spy for the crown during this time, but regardless, her salons were well attended by the rich and famous. She was, however, always skirting scandals, which made her even more dynamic.

When she wasn't hiding from the cops or hosting epic parties, the baroness was also having kids. She had six in total, two of which were from extramarital affairs. Her husband was 30 years her senior, and they were estranged for some years.

Her fairytale books were bestsellers, and it was from her 1697 Les Contes des Fées that Andrew Lang got "Le Nain jaune" or "The Yellow Dwarf"...

...which is the story I am going to recap for you tomorrow. Stay tuned! If you don't want any spoilers, time to abandon this thread.