The life of Hans Christian Andersen
(2 April 1805–4 August 1875)
Hans Christian Andersen was born in the quiet provincial town of Odense in Denmark. His father was a very poor shoemaker and Hans read the books he kept in his workshop. As a boy, he was fascinated by stories and would often go to listen to the old women in the workhouse telling the traditional tales that had been handed down over the years by word of mouth. There was also a theatre in Odense that he would visit to watch travelling actors perform.
When he was 14, he left Odense to try his luck in the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark. He wanted to act and dance, and to write plays for the theatre. Although he was unsuccessful at first, the director thought he showed promise and sent him to school. Hans Christian Andersen always worked very hard but he never made much money. However, he made some wealthy friends and they made sure he never starved. His poverty gave him the ability to write about the hard conditions under which many people lived, while his friends gave him a taste of the glittering society that rich people enjoyed.
By the time Hans Christian Andersen had reached his mid-thirties, his first three novels (out of the six he wrote in total) had become popular, particularly in Germany and Sweden. When his fairy stories were gathered together and published as a book in 1839, he became famous throughout Europe and, indeed, the world.
Portrait of Hans Christian Andersen by Albert Küchler, 1834
His fame then spread to Britain and America, where he was seen as one of the most important writers of the time, and his work was translated into many languages. He travelled all over Europe and wrote five travel books. Altogether, he lived outside Denmark for more than nine years. After such freedom, the narrow way of life in Denmark often made him angry, but he kept returning to the country of his birth. He had been born at a time when countries were governed only by kings and emperors, but during his lifetime, he had seen the middle classes take over government and give the vote to many ordinary people.
Hans Christian Andersen was a modern, forward-thinking man and encouraged these developments. He also had great sympathy for students and working men, remembering his own struggles when he was young. He wrote plays for the Students’ Association and sometimes acted in them with the students. He also spent a lot of time reading and lecturing to the Workers’ Association in Denmark.
When he died in 1875, at the age of 70, a guard of honour was formed at his funeral in Copenhagen Cathedral by students and working men.
Acknowledgements
Image 2; “There Sat The Dog With Eyes As Big As Teacups”; “Let Him Have His Head Cut Off”; “ ‘Have You Really Courage To Go Into The Wide World With Me?’ Asked The Chimney-Sweeper”; “How Do You Manage To Come On The Great Rolling River?”; “The Artificial Bird Has Its Place On A Silken Cushion Close To The Emperor’s Bed”; “They Danced With Shawls Which Were Woven Of Mist And Moonshine”; “Dancing Over The Floor As No One Had Yet Danced”; “The Whole Day Through They Flew Onward Through The Air”; “ ‘Now We Will Begin Our Dances!’ Cried The Fairy”; and Original Paintings
Copyright © National Gallery of Ireland
Portrait of Hans Christian Andersen
Wikipedia Commons
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Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales: Twenty Tales Illustrated by Harry Clarke Page 16