The Marsh King's Daughter

by Hans Christian Andersen

The storks tell their little ones many stories, and they are all about moors and reed banks, and suited to their age. The youngest of them are quite satisfied with “kribble, krabble,” or such nonsense, and think it great. But the elder ones want something with a deeper meaning, or at least something about their own family.
We know one of the longest and oldest stories which the storks tell. It has been repeated from mouth to mouth, from one stork-mother to another, for thousands of years. Each stork has told it better than the last. And now we plan to tell it better than all…

Genres: Classics, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Short Stories, Childrens, Literature

86 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1858

About the author

Hans Christian Andersen (often referred to in Scandinavia as H.C. Andersen) was a Danish author and poet. 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, or "fairy-tales" — 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 Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Nightingale", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and many more. His stories have inspired plays, ballets, and both live-action and animated films.

Reviews

[Mackey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never had read this fable by Hans Christian Andersen until I read the suspense novel with the same name, after which my curiosity was piqued and I wanted to read it in its entirety.

As with all of his stories this one has a moral of good vs evil and is a beautiful, descriptive tale to read to children to help guide them in learning these very important skills. It is short, has some violence but us well worth the read.

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Marsh King’s Daughter” is one of Andersen’s longer fairy tales, in which the main character is the daughter of a beautiful Egyptian princess and the evil Marsh King. By day, the girl is beautiful like her mother but has her father’s wicked, wild temperament, while at night, she takes on her mother’s gentle nature in the guise of a hideous frog.

I found it when I read The Marsh King's Daughter for book club.

In the novel, Helena is also the product of an innocent and a monster—half good, half bad—and like the Marsh King’s daughter in the fairy tale, she struggles with her dual nature.

4 stars

[Marko Vasić · Rating 5 out of 5]

This multi-layer novel is everything, but simple fairy tale for children. Andersen’s work is mostly undiscovered and only 20 or 30 stories are popular and well known, as they are based on elements of fairy tales. The majority of his work is based on horror, melancholy and sadness. This novel encircles many of those elements. And besides fantastic elements, in this story Andersen confronted directly old Norse Asatru with Christianity, on his own fashion, that very much fancy me. Very psychedelic and partly absurd parts incorporated in fantastic-horror atmosphere. Along with bloody sacrifices and body-form-changes.

[Elinor Loredan]

This is a very complex fairytale. I enjoy that it is framed by the narratives and opinions of the storks, who facilitate a lot of the story's events. Much of what happens is gruesome, but the tale more than compensates with beauty and love--that of the viking's wife, of the priest, and of Helga herself once she loses her savage side. Andersen outdid himself with the idea of her dual nature--the beautiful but violent girl and the hideous but tender frog. Wow. The ending is weird, though, and unsettling, much like the last paragraph of The Little Mermaid. I'm not sure why Andersen did not end the story with Helga's marriage or even simply with her reunion with her mother. A large part of the story is her conversion to Christianity (at least, I think she converts--it isn't really directly stated), but then she loses her life and all she loves because she wants a glimpse of heaven. Maybe she becomes too obsessed with heavenly things and forgets about earthly things, which are important too? If this is the point of the ending, it seems like something to address in a separate story. Nonetheless, one of Andersen's strongest stories.

[Lilly B · Rating 4 out of 5]

HCA, back at it again with the absolutely batshit plot twist

[Lingqing Gan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite stories of Anderson. Not a typical fairy tale, but a combination of exotic cultures, suspense, thrill, love, religions and redemption. Just don't expect it to be a light hearted lovely short story. It's deep, complex and heart-poundingly saddening. Anderson definitely tried to tell some truths in this story.

[Ashley Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and the combination of animals and humans in telling it. It was deeply depressing though. Helga ended up never finding peace after learning who she really was.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars- this one was strange, hard to follow, and all over the place. The middle of the story was my favorite part.

[Jeannette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book blurb...

 'If you only read one thriller this year, make it The Marsh King's Daughter. It's sensational' CLARE MACKINTOSH The suspense thriller of the year - The Marsh King's Daughter will captivate you from the start and chill you to the bone.

'I was born two years into my mother's captivity. She was three weeks shy of seventeen. If I had known then what I do now, things would have been a lot different. I would have been a lot more understanding of my mother. I wouldn't have adored my father.'

When the notorious child abductor known as the Marsh King escapes from a maximum security prison, Helena immediately suspects that she and her two young daughters are in danger.

No one, not even her husband, knows the truth about Helena's past: they don't know that she was born into captivity, that she had no contact with the outside world before the age of twelve - or that her father raised her to be a killer.

And they don't know that the Marsh King can survive and hunt in the wilderness better than anyone... except, perhaps his own daughter.

My thoughts…

Wow, wow and wow! This story will hold you captive until the end. I loved the use of the Hans Christen’s tale of the same name. Brilliant!

The Marsh King’s Daughter is the kind of story that lingers long after the last page is read. Even though it is fiction, this story is so powerful and so well told I was left wondering about some real-life abduction cases and what makes a person capable of such appalling cruelty to another human being.

Little else to be said about this story other than if this type of plotline/thriller interests you, the Marsh King’s Daughter will not disappoint.

[Gabingy · Rating 2 out of 5]

💠 Leído en físico

No me ha gustado este cuento. En cuanto a esencia tiene muchos elementos que podemos disfrutar en otros cuentos del autor, como la fantasía o simbolismos. Al principio me dio la impresión de que exploraría más sobre la fantasía o mito de las cigüeñas que traen bebés, pero siento que se fue muy por las ramas y culpo su extensión. Es muchísimo más largo que los otros cuentos de la colección y siento que pierde el rumbo en el camino.

El concepto con el que más me quedo es el de la dualidad que representaba la niña: de día era una niña muy bonita pero de cruel corazón y de noche se convertía en una rana fea de ojos tristes pero de corazón puro. Siento que incluso podemos ver este tipo de dualidad de una persona en incluso ficciones modernas como Sherk con la transformación de la princesa Fionna.

Además de ello, otro punto por el que no me gustó el libro es que lo sentí como propaganda cristiana. La religión es mencionada en reiteradas ocasiones como una salvación, lo que traerá pureza, bautismos forzados, etc. Yo entiendo que es por la época del autor, al final los libros son reflejos de sus autores; Sin embargo, no se me ocurre algún otro libro en el que haya sentido que me vendían tanto la religión como la única solución para sanar el alma como este libro (y eso que Los Miserables es una novela que me encanta).

Es un cuento largo con tantos elementos fantásticos que lo siento sobrecargado. Además de ello, la propaganda religiosa es de las cosas que menos me gustaron considerando que incluso se hace alusión a que forzar el bautismo cristiano es la única manera de librar a alguien más de su espíritu corrupto.

[Holly Biggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Hans Christian Andersen is new to me as an adult and I was surprised how many of his fairytales I am already familiar with because of Disney. The original tales are quite beautiful, brief, and have been good to read. I read this tale as a read-aloud with my son. It was helpful to read together and discuss as the fairytale is full of non-sensical things that stretch the imagination and make you question what is happening. In pausing to discuss, it provided rich discussion. The tale interwove a message about the transformation that Christianity can bring an individual as exemplified through multiple individuals and relationships in the story. The impact of the foster mother and value of the prisoner and stranger cannot be overlooked, and the brief conversation that concluded the fairytale is one to be considered. I look forward to reading this again down the road. It's a short tale, but has interwoven much to be pondered.

[Amelia Bujar · Rating 1 out of 5]

FULL REVIEW ON MY WEBSITE
https://thebookcornerchronicles.com/2...

This one was really not for me. Maybe reading children stories as an adult isn’t the best thing to do for some people.

I personally found this story to be very boring and uninteresting. I really had hard time reading it because I just couldn’t get into the story.

The story is pretty quick read, but that’s the only good thing about this story for me personally.

The writing style in this one was very generic which every fairytale has.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this was an interesting Made in Michigan book. The book cover says "Sensationally good psychological suspense. --Lee Child

I didn't enjoy the process of reading this book, relishing the choice of words. It was nonetheless compelling, and I read it quickly. Amazing story that takes place in the Upper Peninsula, in Newberry, MI. The main character is well developed as is the antagonist. So it is a dark and compelling book,

[Michele Cookney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fairy tale is melancholy filled with light and subtleties in character development. If you’re able to follow the symbolism and take into account when it was written- you have a gem, that many modern day writers have formulated for their own. This review is one star biased as I love Hans Christian Andersen since I was young.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until a few years ago I had only read the more commonly known works of Hans Christian Andersen but was given a copy of The Complete Fairy Tales and discovered that there were 1140 pages of them, many that were thought provoking, dark, disturbing, sad, poignant and “packed with a light hearted whimsy combined with a mature wisdom.” Andersen’s The Marsh King’s Daughter is one I would read again.

[Iman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite racist and hateful piece of propaganda. Not an enjoyable read either. The author has made no secret of the fact of his bias and phobia towards other faiths and cultures. Was very disappointed overall. Would not recommend.

[Maurizio (matemati) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring. It could have been written in half its amount of words, and the ending was no use at all.
One of the worst Andersen' tales I've ever read.

[Doreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a suspenseful, on the edge of your seat book. I couldn't put it down neglecting all other responsibilities so I could read until the last page. Don't miss this one.

[Marsha Ronquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truth in a fairy tale

This is a fairy tale, telling a story with a moral theme. I read a novel by the same name which mentioned this fairy tale. Truth in stories of make believe

[Joseph Knecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going through all the struggles to tell a story.

In the end, it only matters what the children say.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd but intriguing Hans Christian Anderson legend adapted by Linnea Gentry and illustrated by Ricki Klages. A story of love and loyalty with an interesting twist at the end.

I have been fascinated by myths, fairy tales, and legends for a while now and enjoy both reading them and exploring various illustrated versions. This is one such example I picked up at a local library sale.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had no idea fairy-tales could be so scary. A girl trying to do something nice for her father, is kidnapped, forced to have a child and held captive until said child reaches adult hood and returns to her...then she is free to return to her father...and take her daughter who someone else raised...I did not like this story

[K. Anna Kraft · Rating 3 out of 5]

I arranged my takeaway thoughts into a haiku, as best as I could (though this was a tough one; long story with a lot of different parts):

"Wild cards can change things—
Stagnation, past sins, progress,
Whole lifetimes wiped clean."

[Rehab Rayan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Love is a life giver"

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another dark tale from Andersen. It's more on the fantastical side. It was more chaotic and all over the place than his other stories.