Dec 16, 2009

Hans Christian Andersen | Literary Qualities

The outstanding quality of this book is that it is both comprehensive and brief. The tone is conversational though not colloquial, and the story is engaging. Godden frames her biography with Andersen's own words, and she further augments her narrative with carefully selected excerpts from his tales and poetry. Her writing style is marked by rhythmic, lyrical prose rich in images that transport the reader instantly to another time and place. Because Godden was herself a practiced writer of fiction for children when she undertook this biography, she shares a sensibility with her subject: a...