Hans Christen Anderson was a well known Danish author who lived in Copenhagen. He was most well known for his fairytales but he wrote no fewer than 3381 works in his life. Although he was best known for his children’s fairytales including The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina and the Steadfast Tin Solider, Hans Christen Anderson wrote many stories for all ages. Hans Christen Anderson was born on the second of April 1805 in Odense, Denmark. His father (who was also called Hans) was a bootmaker and young Hans grew up watching, learning and helping his father with his struggling business. Hans’ father gained a mediocre education and originally introduced Hans to literature with Arabian Nights. Unfortunately Hans’ father died shortly after his eleventh birthday. After his mother (an uneducated washerwoman) remarried two years later, Hans was sent to a local school for poor children where he received an education much like his father. After receiving a basic education, Hans was expected to support himself through a variety of different jobs. After realising that a basic trade like being a tailor wasn’t for him, Hans moved to Copenhagen to seek employment as an actor. His excellent soprano voice got him accepted into the Royal Danish Theatre, where he thoroughly enjoyed performing for an audience however his voice soon changed, forcing him to find something new. One of his fellow colleagues had once said that he thought of Hans as a poet so taking the thought seriously Hans began focusing on becoming a writer. One of Hans Christen Anderson’s first fairytales was called The Tallow Candle. He wrote this while still at school. The story is about a candle that wasn’t appreciated, perhaps a metaphor for how Hans’ was feeling at the time. Hans grew up very unappreciated and abused by his family, friends and teachers and not surprisedly he fell into a depression. In 1835, Hans published his first two instalments of his fairytale volume. These instalments were later joined by The Little Mermaid, The Tinderbox, Thumbelina, The Princess and the Pea and The Emperors New Clothes. Hans later travelled through Sweden and many other countries which inspired him to write new stories. After publishing a few poems, Hans returned to the fairytale genre with another two volumes of fairytales. This included The Steadfast Solider, The Daisy and The Wild Swans. In 1845, Hans finally started to get recognition for his work. His fairytale, The Little Mermaid was translated into four different languages. Hans continued to write fairytales and travelogues until 1872, publishing them in instalments. Hans Christen Anderson died on the fourth of August 1875 after an lengthy battle with cancer. Hans had fallen out of bed in 1872 and was severely hurt. Shortly after he had started to heal his injuries he began to show signs of liver cancer. During this time Denmark was in emotional turmoil as they were about to lose one of their best authors, an author that had given children across the world a chance to imagine, explore and have adventures. After his death and funeral, Hans Christen Anderson was awarded several awards. Hans Christen Anderson lived an adventurous and full life. I hope through this blog post you have discovered a little about Hans Christen Anderson, but there is still so much to explore. Read one of his fairytale instalments, an information book on his life or even visit the Hans Christen Anderson Museum in Copenhagen. Thank you for reading this blog post. Amelia
