Hans Christian Andersen
Fairy Tales and Stories
Hans Christian Andersen quotes
“Everything you look at can become a fairy tale and you can get a story from everything you touch.”
“Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
“To travel is to live.”
“Every man's life is a fairy tale, written by God's fingers.”
“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live.”
“Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up.”
The life of Hans Christian Andersen
Synopsis
Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, on April 2, 1805. Andersen achieved worldwide fame for writing innovative and influential fairy tales. Many of his stories, including "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Princess and the Pea," remain classics of the genre. He died in Copenhagen on August 4, 1875.
Early Life
Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805, in Odense, Denmark. Hans Andersen Sr. died in 1816, leaving his son and a wife, Anne Marie. While the Andersen family was not wealthy, young Hans Christian was educated in boarding schools for the privileged. The circumstances of Andersen's education have fueled speculation that he was an illegitimate member of the Danish royal family. These rumors have never been substantiated.
In 1819, Andersen traveled to Copenhagen to work as an actor. He returned to school after a short time, supported by a patron named Jonas Collin. He began writing during this period, at Collin's urging, but was discouraged from continuing by his teachers.
Writing Career
Andersen's work first gained recognition in 1829, with the publication of a short story entitled "A Journey on Foot from Holmen's Canal to the East Point of Amager." He followed this with the publication of a play, a book of poetry and a travelogue. The promising young author won a grant from the king, allowing him to travel across Europe and further develop his body of work. A novel based on his time in Italy, The Improvisatore, was published in 1835. The same year, Andersen began producing fairy tales.
Despite his success as a writer up to this point, Andersen did not initially attract attention for his writing for children. His next novels, O.T. and Only a Fiddler, remained critical favorites. Over the following decades, he continued to write for both children and adults, penning several autobiographies, travel narratives and poetry extolling the virtues of the Scandinavian people. Meanwhile, critics and consumers overlooked volumes including the now-classic stories "The Little Mermaid" and "The Emperor's New Clothes." In 1845, English translations of Andersen's folktales and stories began to gain the attention of foreign audiences. Andersen forged a friendship with acclaimed British novelist Charles Dickens, whom he visited in England in 1847 and again a decade later. His stories became English-language classics and had a strong influence on subsequent British children's authors, including A.A. Milne and Beatrix Potter. Over time, Scandinavian audiences discovered Andersen's stories, as did audiences in the United States, Asia and across the globe. In 2006, an amusement park based on his work opened in Shanghai. His stories have been adapted for stage and screen, including a popular animated version of "The Little Mermaid."
Death
Andersen sustained a serious injury in 1872 after falling from bed in his Copenhagen home. His final publication, a collection of stories, appeared the same year.
Around this time, he started to show signs of the liver cancer that would take his life. The Danish government began commemorating Andersen's life and work before his death. Plans got under way to erect a statue of the author, whom the government paid a "national treasure" stipend. Andersen died on August 4, 1875, in Copenhagen.
Personal Life
Although he fell in love many times, Andersen never married. He directed his unrequited affections at both men and women, including the famed singer Jenny Lind and Danish dancer Harald Scharff. Andersen's personal life has fueled academic analyses of possible homoerotic themes in his work.
Website: http://www.biography.com/people/hans-christian-andersen-9184146#writing-career
Hans Christian Andersen 1846
Many of Andersen's fairy tales depict characters who gain happiness in life after suffering and conflicts.
Hans Christian Andersen will be most known and remembered by his tales and stories for the young.
The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" (Danish: Den lille havfrue, literally: "the little mermaid") is a well-known fairy tale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince.
The tale was first published in 1837 and has been adapted to various media, including musical theatre and animated film.
The Snow Queen
"The Snow Queen" (Danish: Snedronningen) is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). The tale was first published 21 December 1844 in New Fairy Tales. (Danish: Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Samling. 1845.) The story centers on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by Gerda and her friend, Kai.
The story is one of Andersen's longest and most highly acclaimed stories. It is regularly included in selected tales and collections of his work and is frequently reprinted in illustrated storybook editions for children.
Thumbelina
"Thumbelina" (Danish: Tommelise) is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Traveling Companion" in the second installment of Fairy Tales Told for Children. "Thumbelina" is about a tiny girl and her adventures with appearance- and marriage-minded toads, moles, and cockchafers. She successfully avoids their intentions before falling in love with a flower-fairy prince just her size.
"Thumbelina" is chiefly Andersen's invention, though he did take inspiration from tales of miniature people such as "Tom Thumb". "Thumbelina" was published as one of a series of seven fairy tales in 1835 which were not well received by the Danish critics who disliked their informal style and their lack of morals. The earliest English translation of "Thumbelina" is dated 1846. The tale has been adapted to various media including song and animated film.
Rosenberg Castle Gardens, Copenhagen
Central Park, New York
Bratislava, Slovakia
The Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center
Saturday, Jun 6, 2015, 11:00 AM
At the Hans Christian Andersen statue "The Ugly Duckling" near 72nd Street & Fifth Avenue. in Central Park, New York.
The Hans Christian Andersen Museum
websites
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6378.Hans_Christian_Andersen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLDp-E_aWR0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJzwC_8f6nA
http://www.biography.com/people/hans-christian-andersen-9184146#writing-career
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Queen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumbelina
http://www.visitodense.com/ln-int/danmark/the-hans-christian-andersen-museum-gdk631935
http://hans-christian-andersens.blogspot.com/2012/05/biographical-sketch-of-hans-christian.html
http://elarcadearciniegas.blogspot.com/2013/08/hans-christian-andersen.html
http://museum.odense.dk/en/knowledge/knowledge-hans-christian-andersen/about-hca-