Hans Christian Andersen Books

Easton Press Hans Christian Andersen books:
Andersen's Fairy Tales and Stories (2 volume set) - 1977
Stories and Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (2 volume deluxe edition with slip case)


Franklin Library Hans Christian Andersen books:
Fairy Tales - 100 Greatest Books of All Time - 1977
Fairy Tales - Collected Stories of the World's Greatest Writers - 1977
Fairy Tales - World's Best Loved Books - 1977


Hans Christian Andersen (1805-75) Danish writer, was known as the "children's poet", born in Odense, Denmark. Andersen was brought up in poverty, with little instruction and few associates, but his narrative gifts were stimulated by the fables of the French author Jean de La Fontaine and the collection of Oriental fairy tales know as the Arabian Nights. The visit of a theatrical company to Odense, in 1818, led him to seek his dramatic fortune in Copenhagen (1819). Andersen's first important work was a journey on Foot from Holm Canal to the East Point of Amager (1829); Fantasies and Sketches followed in 1831. In 1835 Hans Christian Andersen began the Fairy Tales (first series, 1835; second series, 1838-42; third series, 1845; last series, 1871-72). Though at first little esteemed by the general public and by Hans Christian Andersen himself, these pieces are now generally considered his most valuable works. They included some of the most popular of all stories for children, and are often favorably compared with the true folk tales contained in such collections as those of the German mythologist Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

 

Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales are like exquisite jewels, drawing from us gasps of recognition and delight. Writing in the midst of a Europe-wide rebirth of national literature, Anderson broke new ground with his fairy tales in two important ways. First, he composed them in the vernacular, mimicking the language he used in telling them to children aloud. Second, he set his tales in his own land and time, giving rise to his loving descriptions of the Danish countryside. In contrast to such folklorists as the Brothers Grimm, Anderson’s tales are grounded in the real and often focus on the significance of small or overlooked things.

The Fairy Tales
Tinderbox
Little Claus and big Claus
Princess on the pea
Thumbelina
Traveling companion
Little mermaid
Emperor's new clothes
Steadfast tin soldier
Wild swans
Flying trunk
Nightingale
Sweethearts
Ugly duckling
Fir tree
Snow queen
Red shoes
Shepherdess and the chimney sweep
Shadow
Old house
Little match girl
Story of a mother
Collar
Bell
Marsh King's daughter
Wind tells of Valdemar Daae and his daughters
Snowman
Ice maiden
Wood nymph
Most incredible thing
Auntie toothache