French Fairy Tales

Countess de Segur began to compose fairy tales for her grandchildren, of whom she had many — two dozen. In 1857, these stories were published as a separate book, which was well received by the French public. At that time, the countess was already in her sixties. She lived in Normandy, in the estate of Noyette, which somehow reminded her of her native estate Voronovo in the Moscow region. It was there, in Russia, that the future writer spent her childhood. She was the daughter of General Fyodor Vasilyevich Rostopchin — the Moscow governor who took an active part in the dramatic events in the capital in 1812. Sofia Fyodorovna's father was an ardent Slavophile and occasionally wrote amusing comedies, not considering himself, however, a professional writer. In 1815, he left Russia for Karlsbad for treatment of his deteriorating health and then lived for some time in Paris. In 1817, his family also moved there. Thus, Sofia Fyodorovna found herself in France, where she soon married Count Eugene de Segur. She never returned to her homeland in Russia. After "New Fairy Tales," more than two and a half dozen of her works were published, the most famous of which became "Sonia's Mischiefs" — a collection of amusing stories written in French specifically for children. By the end of the 19th century, this book by de Segur became a true bestseller in Europe. Kind critics sometimes called the countess "the Balzac for children."

The book is adorned with illustrations by the talented American artist Virginia Frances Sterrett. Her drawings for "Old French Tales" for the American publisher "Penn Publishing" were the first commission that Virginia received in 1920 after studying at the Chicago Art Institute. Sterrett was an admirer of the Art Deco style and tried to follow it in her works. This is immediately noticeable in the drawings created for the fairy tales of Segur. Sterrett spent her childhood in Chicago. At the beginning of the 20th century, this city did not particularly delight its residents with its beauty, and Virginia's drawings evoked certain dreams of other, wonderful and tempting worlds, images of which arose in the artist's mind. Sterrett had fragile health, and in her short but vibrant life, she managed to illustrate only a few publications. Her last work was the illustrations for the tales of "One Thousand and One Nights." She completed them in 1928. Critics wrote that Sterrett's drawings are characterized by "delicate, fantastic beauty, which she must have portrayed as she escaped from the harsh reality of life."