 Other chapters look at fairy tales, the writing of the "Encyclopédie" and other aspects of French early modern history.Darnton, influenced by his colleague, anthropologist Clifford Geertz, aimed to gain greater insight into the period and social groups involved by studying what he perceived to be something which appeared alien to the late modern mind – the fact that killing cats might be funny.The book containing this account, "The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History", has become one of Darnton's most popular writings; it has been published in eighteen languages.