Hans Christian Andersen

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Hans Christian Andersen

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Hans Christian Andersen 1805-75, Danish poet, novelist, and writer of fairy tales. Reared in poverty, he left Odense at 14 for Copenhagen. He failed as an actor, but his poetry won him generous patrons including King Frederick VI. In 1829 his fantasy A Journey on Foot from the Holmen Canal to the Eastern Point of Amager was published, followed by a volume of poetry in 1830. Granted a traveling pension by the king, Andersen wrote sketches of the European countries he visited. His first novel, Improvisatoren (1835), was well received by the critics. His sentimental novels were for a time considered his forte. However, with his first book of fairy tales, Eventyr (1835), he found the medium of expression that was to immortalize his genius. He produced about one volume a year and was recognized as Denmark's greatest author, a storyteller without peer, and one of the giants of European literature. His tales are often tragic or gruesome in plot. His sense of fantasy, power of description, and acute sensitivity contributed to his mastery of the genre. Among his many widely beloved stories are "The Fir-Tree," "The Little Match Girl," "The Ugly Duckling," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," and "The Red Shoes."

Bibliography: See his Fairy Tales, tr. by R. P. Keigwin (4 vol., 1956-60); The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories, tr. by E. Hougaard (1983); M. Tator, ed., The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen (2007); his autobiography (1855, tr. 1871); A River—A Town—A Poet, autobiographical selections by A. Dreslov (1963); his diaries, translated by S. Rossel and P. Conroy (1990); biographies by F. Böök (tr. 1962), R. Godden (1955), M. Stirling (1965), S. Toksvig (1934, repr. 1969), and E. Bredsdorff (1975).

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Andersen, Hans Christian

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | © World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Andersen, Hans Christian (1805–75) Danish writer of some of the world's best-loved fairy tales. He gained a reputation as a poet and novelist before his talent found its true expression. His humorous, delicate but frequently melancholic stories, were first published in 1835. They include “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Little Mermaid”, “The Little Match Girl” and “The Emperor's New Clothes”.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Hans Christian Andersen: The Life of a Storyteller.(Review)
Magazine article from: New Criterion; 9/1/2001
Free Article HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN.(Review)
Magazine article from: Contemporary Review; 4/1/2001
Free Article The elfin mind.(Hans Christian Andersen: A New Life)(Book Review)
Magazine article from: New Criterion; 5/1/2005

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Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

Poor Little Ugly Duckling. (Book).(Hans Christian Andersen: The Life of a Storyteller)
Magazine article from: The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide; 11/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; Hans Christian Andersen: The Life of a Storyteller by Jackie...Knopf.496 pages, $30. WHEN Hans Christian Andersen traveled to England...movie starring Danny Kaye, 1952's Hans Christian Andersen, with its caricature of Andersen...
Book reviews: The Stories Of Hans Christian Andersen: Master of wild imaginings
Newspaper article from: Scotland on Sunday; 11/14/2004; ; 700+ words ; The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen Translated by Diana Crone Frank and Jeffrey Frank Granta...starring Danny Kaye. But what do we know about the real Hans Christian Andersen and his works? This new translation of Andersen's tales...
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Newspaper article from: Reforma (México D.F., México); 1/23/2005; 700+ words ; ...Dos Veces Para Toms, mi nieto Hans Christian Andersen gan inmortalidad literaria con...Dorset, quienes sostienen que Andersen era el hijo ilegtimo de la Condesa...pequeo varn. En 1805, Ana Mara y Hans Andersen, mis supuestos padres...
'Reisen ist leben, dann wird das Leben reich und lebendig': Der danische Dichter Hans Christian Andersen und Osterreich.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: The Modern Language Review; 10/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...Leben reich and lebendig': Der danische Dichter Hans Christian Andersen und Osterreich. By SVEN HAKON ROSSEL. (Wechselbeziehungen...pp. 26.10 [euro] ISBN 3-7069-0264-8. Hans Andersen was an inveterate traveller and travel-writer...
Hans Christian Andersen was houseguest from hell for Charles Dickens!
News Wire article from: The Hindustan Times; 5/26/2008; 519 words ; ...fascinating fairy tales, but Hans Christian Andersen was the houseguest from hell for...and in the summer of 1857, Andersen returned to England to spend a...the mirror in the guestroom: "Hans Andersen slept in this room for...
HIS DARK MATERIALS He is Denmark's Shakespeare, the creator of a body of work so powerful that it's become a part of our everyday language. Yet Hans Christian Andersen was no cuddly weaver of fairy tales for nice kids - oh no, not beneath the surface. His biographer Michael Booth reveals that there was an awful lot more to the great fabulist than the Emperor's New Clothes
Newspaper article from: The Independent on Sunday; 3/27/2005; ; 700+ words ; Hans Christian Andersen, the "greatest of Danes" (as recently...obsessions. In Denmark they mention Andersen in the same breath as Shakespeare and...questionable anti-hero. And without Hans Christian Andersen to lead me astray...
CATHY FREEMAN APPOINTED HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN AMBASSADOR.
News Wire article from: AsiaPulse News; 12/4/2003; 700+ words ; ...appointed as the Hans Christian Andersen Ambassador by His...eccentric thinker. Hans Christian Andersen is one...life and works of Hans Christian Andersen, world famous writer...com.au SOURCE: Hans Christian Andersen 2005 ASIA PULSE...
Interview: Diana and Jeffrey Frank discuss the author Hans Christian Andersen and his work
Transcript from: Weekend Edition - Saturday (NPR); 4/2/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...Frank discuss the author Hans Christian Andersen and his work Host: SCOTT...Help us understand what Hans Christian Andersen means to the Danish nation...you read us 30 seconds of Hans Christian Andersen in Danish? Ms. FRANK...
Hans Christian Andersen: The Misunderstood Storyteller
Magazine article from: Voices; 4/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; Hans Christian Andersen: The Misunderstood Storyteller...only intended audience-but within Andersen's own life and pursuit of fame...of Europe. Zipes tells a story of Hans Christian Andersen through an analysis of several of...
The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen
Magazine article from: Marvels & Tales; 1/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen. Selected and translated...The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen; for example...poll," or "Clod-Hans.") In addition to...stories, The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen includes canonical...
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