Fairy Tales

Blending Danish folklore with magical storytelling, Hans Christian Andersen's unique fairy tales describe a world of beautiful princesses and sinister queens, rewarded virtue and unresolved desire. Rich with popular tales such as The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes and the darkly enchanting The Snow Queen, this revelatory new collection also contains many lesser-known but intriguing stories, such as the sinister The Shadow, in which a shadow slyly takes over the life of the man to whom it is bound.

About the Author

Hans Christian Andersen (2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children; his stories, called eventyr in Danish or "fairy-tales" in English, express themes that transcend age and nationality.

Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. Some of his most famous fairy tales include The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, The Nightingale, The Snow Queen, The Ugly Duckling, and many more.

He died at the home of his close friends in 1875 and is buried in the plot of his benefactor's family.