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June 30, 2023 | History

Hans Christian Andersen

2 April 1805 - 4 August 1875

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 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.

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  • Cover of: O. T. - a Danish Romance Illustrated: Fiction, Romance

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  • Cover of: STORIES from HANS ANDERSEN: Fairy Tales,children Book, Children's Literature, Children Gift, Classic Children Book

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  • Cover of: Alice in Wonderland a Christmas Carol Wonderful Stories for Children: Best Books and Works for Children

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  • Cover of: Stories from Hans Andersen: First Edition

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  • Cover of: Little Mermaid

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  • Cover of: L'amour d'une mère

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  • Cover of: Contes Pour les Enfants

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  • Cover of: Petite Sirène: Une Incroyable Histoire d'amour, Entre la Petite Sirène Ariel et le Prince Eric, à Travers une Histoire Magique Pour Enfants

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  • Cover of: Queen, the Princes and the Mermaid: Hans Christian Andersen's Most Enchanting Tales

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  • Cover of: Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen the New Fully Annotated Edition

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  • Cover of: Kibritçi Kız
    First published in 2020 1 edition

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  • Cover of: Das Alte Haus - Eski Ev Almanca - Türkce Bakisimli Hikayeler

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  • Cover of: Andersen's Fairy Tales Annotated Fairy Tales

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  • Cover of: Cuentos de Andersen

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  • Cover of: Andersen's Fairy Tales Annotated Quality Reading

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  • Cover of: The Mermaid and Other Tales

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  • Cover of: Cigroneta

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  • Cover of: De to Baronesser

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  • Cover of: Andersen's Fairy Tales Illustrated

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  • Cover of: Fairy Tales. Grimm and Andersen: 2 in 1 - 40th Anniversary Edition

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June 30, 2023 Edited by Сергей Малышев Edited without comment.
April 14, 2023 Edited by Tom Morris Remove bad AKAs
September 27, 2022 Edited by Tom Morris merge authors
February 23, 2022 Edited by JeneeWhitney merge authors
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import