Charles Perrault

About Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault (1628–1703) was a towering literary figure of 17th-century France, best known for his significant contributions to the fairy tale genre. His collection, *Histoires ou contes du temps passé* (1697), cemented his place as a foundational figure whose retellings included classics like "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," "Puss in Boots," and "Little Red Riding Hood." This sustained cultural impact earns him an Historical Popularity Index (HPI) rank of \#668 among history's most influential figures, placing him well within the top 5% of Pantheon's catalog.

In the modern digital sphere, Perrault receives an attention level suggesting a mild historical oversight. His Wikipedia page accrued approximately 184K annualized views in 2025, resulting in an Attention Gap of about 1x, meaning his current online interest largely mirrors his historical standing. This contrasts with contemporaries in the writer pool; for instance, Kurt Vonnegut (\#849 importance) commands 1.0 million views, over five times Perrault's traffic, despite a lower HPI rank. Conversely, figures of comparable historical weight, such as Erich Maria Remarque (\#901), secure a higher volume of interest at 331K views.

Regarding contemporary relevance, Perrault's digital footprint shows a slight erosion of interest, with a Year-over-Year change of -4.6% and a small decrease of -2% in Q1 vs. Q3 momentum, indicating a subtle, ongoing decline in immediate online engagement.