Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875) was a Danish author best known for his fairy tales, which are among the most widely translated works in world literature. [1] He also wrote novels, plays, poetry, and travel books, but it was the 156 tales published between 1835 and 1872, including The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Emperor's New Clothes, that secured his international reputation. [2] Unlike the collectors of folk material working in the same period, Andersen composed most of his tales himself. [3]
Early life
Andersen was born on 2 April 1805 in Odense on the Danish island of Funen, the son of a shoemaker and a washerwoman. The household was poor, and his father died when he was eleven. He received little formal schooling as a child but absorbed folk tales, puppet theatre, and the plays he read aloud at home. [1]
At fourteen he left for Copenhagen intending to become a singer, dancer, or actor at the Royal Danish Theatre. His voice broke and the theatrical career failed, but his persistence brought him to the attention of Jonas Collin, a director of the theatre, who secured royal funding for his education. Andersen was sent to grammar school at Slagelse and Elsinore, an unhappy period under a harsh headmaster, and afterwards studied at the University of Copenhagen. [2]
Early writing
Andersen published poetry and a fantastical travel narrative in the late 1820s and achieved his first substantial success with the novel The Improvisatore in 1835, drawn from a long journey through Italy. He wrote further novels, plays, and travel accounts throughout his life and considered them his serious work. [1]
In the same year he issued a slim booklet of tales for children, followed by further instalments at intervals for nearly four decades. Danish critics were initially cool, objecting to the colloquial style and the absence of explicit moral instruction, but the tales found an immediate readership and were quickly translated. [3]
The fairy tales
Andersen's tales depart from the folk tradition in that most are original compositions rather than recorded oral material. They adopt the rhythms of spoken Danish, address the reader directly, and animate ordinary objects such as a darning needle, a shirt collar, or a tin soldier. Their tone ranges from comic satire to melancholy, and several conclude without consolation. [2]
Among the best known are The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Snow Queen, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Thumbelina, and The Little Match Girl. Several draw on his own experience of poverty, social exclusion, and unreciprocated attachment. He also worked extensively in paper cutting, producing intricate silhouettes that he made while telling stories aloud. [3]
Later life and legacy
Andersen travelled widely in Europe and the Near East, recording his journeys in books and befriending writers including Charles Dickens. He never married; his attachments, to both women and men, went unreturned. Honoured by Denmark and by foreign courts with decorations including the Order of the Dannebrog, the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, and the Bavarian Maximilian Order, he was named an honorary citizen of Odense in 1867. He died at Rolighed near Copenhagen on 4 August 1875. [1]
His tales have been translated into well over a hundred languages and adapted continuously for stage, opera, film, and animation. The Hans Christian Andersen Award, established in 1956, is given biennially for lasting contribution to children's literature, and his birthday, 2 April, is marked as International Children's Book Day. [1]
