Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author born in Odense, Denmark, on 2 April 1805. He lived through the 19th century and died on 4 August 1875. Andersen wrote widely, producing plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, but he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Across nine volumes, his fairy tales number 156 stories, and they have been translated into more than 125 languages.

His early life was marked by poverty, work, and a strong pull toward the arts. His father, also named Hans, had received an elementary school education and introduced him to literature by reading him Arabian Nights. His mother, Anne Marie Andersdatter, was an illiterate washerwoman. After his father died in 1816, Andersen was sent to a local school for poor children, received a basic education, and supported himself as an apprentice to a weaver and later to a tailor.

At 14, Andersen moved to Copenhagen to seek work as an actor. His soprano voice won him a place at the Royal Danish Theatre, but his voice soon changed. A colleague there told him he considered him a poet, and Andersen took the comment seriously. Jonas Collin, director of the Royal Danish Theatre, cared for Andersen and helped send him to grammar school in Slagelse, with King Frederick VI paying part of the cost. Andersen later described his school years as the darkest and most bitter of his life, saying he was abused, discouraged from writing, and driven into depression.

Andersen began publishing early. By 1822 he had published “The Ghost at Palnatoke’s Grave.” In 1829 he found considerable success with “A Journey on Foot from Holmen’s Canal to the East Point of Amager,” followed by a theatrical piece and a short volume of poems. A travel grant from the king in 1833 allowed him to travel through Europe. His time in Italy was reflected in his first novel, The Improvisatore, a fictionalized autobiography published in 1835 to instant acclaim.

That same year Andersen entered the fairy tale genre with Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection, issued in three installments between May 1835 and April 1837. The first booklet included “The Tinderbox,” “Little Claus and Big Claus,” “The Princess and the Pea,” and “Little Ida’s Flowers.” Later installments included “Thumbelina,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Among his most famous tales are also “The Nightingale,” “The Steadfast Tin Soldier,” “The Red Shoes,” “The Snow Queen,” “The Ugly Duckling,” and “The Little Match Girl.”

Early Danish critics were not enthusiastic about the first two fairy tale booklets, disliking Andersen’s chatty, informal style and what they saw as a lack of proper instruction for children. Yet the very qualities that troubled some critics helped give the stories their reach. Andersen’s tales became accessible to children while also carrying lessons known for their virtue. They entered Western collective consciousness and went on to inspire ballets, plays, and animated and live-action films. His words remain familiar because they speak plainly, often through wonder, about pride, longing, suffering, beauty, and the wish to be seen.