Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, to a father who claimed to be related to nobility. After school, he worked as a weaver's apprentice and as a tailor's assistant. At 14, he moved to Copenhagen to be an actor, and was accepted into the Royal Danish Theatre. His career ended when his voice changed, and he decided to become a writer. He published his first story, The Ghost at Palnatoke's Grave, in 1822. An acquaintance paid all expenses to send him to grammar school in Slagelse. He also attended school at Elsinore until 1827. He later admitted that his school years were the darkest and bitterest of his life.
After school, Andersen resumed writing. In 1829, he started to see his first successes, publishing a short story, "A Journey on Foot from Holmen's Canal to the East Point of Amager", and a collection of poems. In 1833 he received a traveling grant from the King, and he set out to travel through Europe. He published his first novel, The Improvisatore, in 1835. He also published the first set of Fairy Tales, following up with more stories in 1836 and 1837. Although they were not initially successful, they have become his best-known works. He wrote a well-received poem, Jeg er en Skandinav, which celebrated Scandinavism, in 1839.
In 1857, following a visit to Charles Dickens in England, Andersen met Danish actor Lauritz Eckardt and Danish ballet dancer Harald Scharff in Paris. In 1860, he met them again in Bavaria, and the three of them spent a week in Munich together. Anderson fell in love with Scharff, and started corresponding with him when Scharff and Eckardt left Munich. They were united when Andersen returned to Copenhagen in 1862. Their affair lasted for over a year before it was ended by Scharff, and Andersen did not have another serious relationship.
In 1872, Andersen was injured in a fall, and he died of his injuries in 1875.
1,414 works Add another?
Most Editions | First Published | Most Recent
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Fairy Tales
298 editions - first published in 1846 Read -
Fairy tales and stories
143 editions - first published in 1850 Read -
Snedronningen
64 editions - first published in 1894 Borrow -
Grimme ælling
58 editions - first published in 1945 Borrow -
Tommelise
57 editions - first published in 1911 Borrow -
Kejserens nye klæder
44 editions - first published in 1900 Borrow -
Lille havfrue
43 editions - first published in 1935 DAISY -
Nattergalen
35 editions - first published in 1880 Read -
Standhaftige tinsoldat
29 editions - first published in 1900 Borrow -
Lille pige med svovlstikkerne
28 editions - first published in 1944 DAISY -
Vilde svaner
27 editions - first published in 1863 Borrow -
The True Story of My Life
19 editions - first published in 1847 Borrow -
Svinedrengen
18 editions - first published in 1920 -
Fairy tales from Hans Christian Andersen
16 editions - first published in 1899 Read -
Grantræet
15 editions - first published in 1960 Borrow -
Fyrtøjet
15 editions - first published in 1928 -
Prindsessen paa ærten
15 editions - first published in 1978 Borrow -
The improvisatore: or, Life in Italy
13 editions - first published in 1845 Read -
Cuentos de Andersen
12 editions - first published in 1984 -
Improvisatoren
12 editions - first published in 1835 Read -
Hans Christian Andersen
11 editions - first published in 1942 -
The sand-hills of Jutland
11 editions - first published in 1860 Read -
The ice-maiden: and other tales.
10 editions - first published in 1863 Read -
Digters bazar: A Picturesque Tour in Germany, Italy, Greece, and the Orient
10 editions - first published in 1846 Read -
Mit livs eventyr
10 editions - first published in 1871 -
O. T. a Danish Romance
10 editions - first published in 1880 -
The Emperor and the Nightingale
10 editions - first published in 1940 Borrow -
Pictures of Sweden
8 editions - first published in 1851 -
The two baronesses: a romance
8 editions - first published in 1848 -
Lille Claus og Store Claus
8 editions - first published in 1951 -
Stories and tales
7 editions - first published in 1870 Read -
The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen
7 editions - first published in 1899 Read -
Røde sko
7 editions - first published in 1928 -
Le vilain petit canard
7 editions - first published in 1959 -
Billedbog uden billeder
7 editions - first published in 1844 -
El Traje Nuevo del Emperador
6 editions - first published in 1992 -
Poems: Syv digte
6 editions - first published in 1955 -
Skazki
6 editions - first published in 1955 -
It's Absolutely True
6 editions - first published in 1944 -
The complete Andersen: all of the 168 stories
5 editions - first published in 1949 -
Bilderbuch ohne Bilder: (What the moon saw)
5 editions - first published in 1864 Read -
Only a fiddler: a Danish romance
5 editions - first published in 1871 Read -
Den lille havfrue
5 editions - first published in 1955 -
En digters bazar
5 editions - first published in 1877 Read -
The little mermaid and other fairy tales
5 editions - first published in 1960 Borrow -
Fairy tales from Hans Andersen
4 editions - first published in 1906 Read -
Fairy tales and other stories
4 editions - first published in 1914 Read -
Sämmtliche Märchen: einzige vollständige von Verfasser besorgte Ausgabe
4 editions - first published in 1800 Read -
Cuentos
4 editions - first published in 1957 -
Thumbelina (Thumbelina)
4 editions - first published in 1994 -
H.C. Andersens dagboeger 1825-1875
4 editions - first published in 1972 -
Den grimme ælling: eventyr
4 editions - first published in 1975 -
Tales from Hans Christian Andersen
4 editions - first published in 1965 Borrow -
The mermaid man: the autobiography of Hans Christian Andersen.
4 editions - first published in 1955 -
El Ruisenor
4 editions - first published in 1984 -
In Spain: and A visit to Portugal
4 editions - first published in 1864 -
The Ugly Duckling and other Fairy Tales
4 editions - first published in 1913 -
The Ice-Maiden and Other Tales
4 editions - first published in 2006 -
Hans Christian Andersen's stories for the household
4 editions - first published in 1893 DAISY -
O.T.: a Danish romance
4 editions - first published in 1800 -
The annotated Hans Christian Andersen
4 editions - first published in 2007 -
Andersen's Märchen
4 editions - first published in 1893 Read -
En brevveksling
4 editions - first published in 1948 -
Das hässliche Entlein: ein Märchen
4 editions - first published in 1971 -
Hans Christian Andersen's the Nightingale
4 editions - first published in 1965 -
Mit eget eventyr uden digtning
4 editions - first published in 1942 -
Le petit soldat de plomb
4 editions - first published in 1994 -
Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales
4 editions - first published in 1982 -
Die schönsten Märchen
4 editions - first published in 1997 -
Dagbøger 1825-1875
4 editions - first published in 1971 -
Levnedsbog
4 editions - first published in 1926 -
Contes
4 editions - first published in 1856 Read -
At være eller ikke være: a novel
4 editions - first published in 1857 Read -
Emperor's New Clothes, The (Works in Translation)
3 editions - first published in 1987 -
De to Baronesser: original Roman i tre Dele. Andet Oplag.
3 editions - first published in 1849 Read -
Den standhaftige tinsoldat
3 editions - first published in 1962 -
The Little Mermaid Coloring Book
3 editions - first published in 1991 -
Tales from Andersen
3 editions - first published in 1963 -
A treasury of Hans Christian Andersen
3 editions - first published in 1974 -
LA Princesa Y El Guisante: cuento
3 editions - first published in 1982 -
Romaner og Rejseskildringer
3 editions - first published in 1943 -
Der standhafte Zinnsoldat: Ein Märchen.
3 editions - first published in 1960 -
Brevveksling med Jonas Collin den Aeldre: og andre medlemmer af detCollinske hus
3 editions - first published in 1945 -
Christine's Picture Book: Hans Christian Andersen and Grandfather Drewsen
3 editions - first published in 1984 -
The princess and the swineherd
3 editions - first published in 1972 -
The Snow Queen and Other Stories
3 editions - first published in 1911 -
Andersens Märchen: in neuer übersetzung
3 editions - first published in 1800 -
Das Märchen meines Lebens ohne Dichtung: eine Skizze
3 editions - first published in 1921 Read -
The Emperor's New Clothes (Play Along Fairy Tales)
3 editions - first published in 1987 -
The stories of Hans Christian Andersen: a new translation from the Danish
3 editions - first published in 2003 -
The Ugly Duckling (Classic Fairy Tales)
3 editions - first published in 1996 -
La Reina de Las Nieves
3 editions - first published in 1987 -
The Chimney Sweep
3 editions - first published in 1957 -
The white swans and other tales
3 editions - first published in 1870 Read -
La petite sirène et autres contes
3 editions - first published in 1992 -
Les habits neufs de l'empereur
3 editions - first published in 1998 -
The Snow Queen and Other Tales: Ll & R
3 editions - first published in 1966 -
Andersen's Fairy Tales
3 editions - first published in 2004 Borrow -
La Petite Sirene Et Autres Contes
3 editions - first published in 1977 -
I Spanien
3 editions - first published in 1863 Read
Subjects
Fairy tales,
Children's stories, Danish,
Translations into English,
Accessible book,
Danish Authors,
Fiction,
Protected DAISY,
Short stories,
Biography,
Description and travel,
Juvenile fiction,
In library,
Translations into Russian,
Juvenile literature,
Translations into German,
Folklore,
Translations into Marathi,
Nightingale,
Cuentos de hadas,
Specimens,
Translations into Mongolian,
Travel,
Diaries,
Translations from Danish,
Translations into Czech
Places
People
H. C. Andersen (1805-1875),
Paul Durand artist,
Charles Dickens (1812-1870),
Alice,
August Bournonville (1805-1879),
Bernhard Severin Ingemann (1789-1862),
Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844),
Carl Alexander Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1818-1901),
Collin family,
E. A. Lemann,
Goldilocks,
H. C. Andersen (,1805-1875),
H.C. Andersen (1805-1875),
Helge Gottlieb Topsøe-Jensen (1896-),
Henriette Wulff,
Horace E. Scudder,
Horace Elisha Scudder (1838-1902),
Jonas Collin (1840-1905),
José Correas,
Kate Greenaway (1846-1901),
Kristian Kongstad (1867-1929),
Lina von Eisendecher,
Lucie Marie Ingemann (1792-1868),
Marguerite R. Duffy,
Mathias Weber (1850-1933)
Links (outside Open Library)
Alternative names
- Hans Christian ANDERSEN
- Hans Christian Andersen
- ANDERSEN, H.C. (HANS CHRISTIAN), 1805-1875.
- HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
- ILLUS. PAUL HUNT HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
- Hans Christian, Andersen
- Hans christian Andersen
- Christian Hans Andersen
- Hans, Christian Andersen
- Hans-Christian Andersen
- Hans Andersen Christian
- Andersen Hans Christian.
- H. C. (Hans Christian) Andersen
- Andersen, H. C. (Hans Christian), 1805-1875.
- Hans Christian Anderson
- Hans Christian Andersen worth
- Trans. Erik Christian Haugaard Hans Christian Andersen
- The Brothers Grimm/ Hans Christian Andersen
- Hans Christain Andersen
- H. C. Andersen
History Created April 1, 2008 · 11 revisions
| August 29, 2011 | Edited by LA2 | Project Runeberg link |
| August 29, 2011 | Edited by LA2 | merge authors |
| November 20, 2010 | Edited by Alan Millar | fix names |
| November 20, 2010 | Edited by Alan Millar | merge authors |
| April 1, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | initial import |