Literature / Writers Datebook: April 2
Brief biography and works of 19th-century Danish writer, Hans Christian Andersen, famous for children's loved fairy tale stories, which are among the most widely rad works in literature.
Brief profile
Andersen was born on April 2, 1805 in Odense, Denmark,into a poor family and attended the city's school for poor children. When he was 14, he let Odense, hoping to earn a living as an actor or singer in the capital city, Copenhagen. After three hard years of minor acting roles and barely enough o eat, Andersen became friendly with a theatre director who raised money for him to continue his education.
At the age of 23, Andersen went to the University of Copenhagen and a year later produced his first important work, A Walk from Holman's Canal to the East Point of the Island of Amager. This fantastic tale about a journey was an instant success.
Some of his tales are based on Danish folklore, and the others, on his own unhappy experiences at school and later. Many have a serious moral message. His use of dialogue in the stories makes them very direct and enjoyable to read. Charles Dickens admired them greatly.
Andersen fell deeply in love more than once but never married. He traveled throughout Europe and wrote plays, novels and travel books about his experiences. Following a long illness, he died at the age of 70, on August 4, 1875, in Copenhagen.
H.C. Andersen's Famous Fairy Tales
Andersen wrote 168 fairy tales between 1835 and 1872. The first few were published in Tales Told for Children when he was 30. Stories such as "The Little Mermaid," "The Princess and the Pea," "The Ugly Duckling," "The Emperor's New Clothes," "Thumbelina" and "The Snow Queen" won him worldwide fame.
Hans Christian Andersen wrote prolifically, but his immortality derives from the numerous fairy tales he wrote for children. These have been translated into more than 100 languages. His works have been adapted in films and stage, as well as recorded in DVDs, audio books, tapes, and CDs.
Elias Lieberman, on the statue of H.C. Andersen's memorial in New York's Central Park wrote,
"To bright-eyed children row on row
Enraptured by your fancies you
Are all the magic they need know
To make a story wonder-true."
Major Works by Hans Christian Andersen
A walk from Holman's Canal to the East Point of the Island of Amager, 1829
Poems, 1830
Agnete and the Merman, 1833
The Improvisatore, 1835
Fairy Tales Told for Children, 1835
72 Fairy Tales, 1835
O.T., 1836
Only a Fiddler, 1837
Picture Book Without Pictures, 1847
The True Story of My Life, 1847
In Sweden, 1851
The Fairy Tale of My Life, 1854
Lucky Peer, 1879
Photo Credit:
Hans Christian Andersen. Wikipedia Commons / Public Domain
Resources:
Goring, Rosemary, Ed. Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994
McGovern, Una, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers, 2002
Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997
(c) April 2010. Updated April 2, 2024. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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