Andersen, Hans Christian
Andersen, Hans Christian ( 1805 – 75 ),Danish writer, born in Odense, the son of a cobbler and a washerwoman. His earliest ambitions were theatrical, and he trained as a singer and actor before achieving success as a playwright and novelist. From 1831 onwards he travelled widely in Europe, and remained a passionate traveller all his life, making his first visit to England in 1847 . By this time he had already gained an international reputation for his fairy stories, which first appeared in Danish from 1835 onwards, and in English in 1846 in three separate translations, by Charles Boner , Mary Howitt , and Caroline Peachey . These stories, which include such haunting tales as ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘The Snow Queen’, ‘The Ugly Duckling’, ‘The Red Shoes’, and ‘The Emperor's New Clothes’, were deeply rooted in Danish folklore, but were also shaped by Andersen's own psychological experiences and his at...
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