Who Is Muriel Levy?

Muriel Levy wrote a version of the Cinderella story for Ladybird books in 1944. However, the origins of the Cinderella story go much further back. A Chinese version of the story was written in the ninth century and the earliest published European version is Italian and dates from 1634. Cinderella is a fairy tale or folk story and was probably told verbally many times before there was any evidence of it being written down. Different versions are known to have existed. In one gruesome adaptation an Ugly Sister hacked her own toes off to make the glass slipper fit. Researchers have traced over 700 versions around the world in many different languages. This supports the idea that certain key stories have near universal appeal because they point to important human characteristics or meet deep seated human needs. The notions that good will triumph over evil, that beauty wins out over ugliness and the all important happy ending offered by Cinderella are certainly themes repeated many times in popular film and literature.