Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales

by Hans Christian Andersen, Maria Tatar (Foreword)

The author Hans Christian Andersen is regarded as a national treasure by his homeland Denmark, but his popularity extends far beyond his native shores. As one of the most translated authors in the world, there are hundreds of editions of his books in many languages. He is known predominantly for his remarkable series of fairy tales, many of which remain classics today, providing both inspiration for many film versions of his famous tales, as well as new collections of his stories. Evocative and poignant, their rich narratives are hugely compelling and tend to explore morality in an accessible and thought-provoking way. He was a great admirer of Dickens, and they conducted a literary friendship for many years.

This latest collection celebrates Andersen’s unique literary output and gathers together a large selection of much-loved tales such as ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, ‘The Ugly Duckling’, ‘The Princess and the Pea’ and ‘The Snow Queen’.

Genres: Classics, Short Stories, Fairy Tales

480 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2020

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

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐️

Urgh. That was a bore. Awful to read and so much misogyny. Out of the 89 stories, I knew 8 going in. And none of them were nearly as good as the retellings and adaptations I read before.

I’m a bit tempted to read the Grimm’s stories in the same collection - because at least those are interesting. We’ll see. Because right now I lost all respect for Andersen.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic addition to the gothic fantasy collection, this anthology is full of short stories by Hans Christian Anderson as they tell their dark, gothic, macabre, gloomy, haunted, creepy, tragically heartbreakingly sad, thrilling, spine chilling, spooky, stories of Han Christian Anderson fairy tales. This book was fantastic to read I absolutely adored reading this book, this book is perfect for curling up on a cold rainy winters night by the fire. The book cover captivated me in the story immediately and after a glancing at the book knew immediately I had to read it. I love the variety of stories and authors throughout the book giving you an experience with contemporary writers and classic stories. This gothic fantasy collection is ideal for any lovers of horror and gothic hauntings. Some of my favourite stories in this book are….

[Destiny Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just an alright classic short stories read! I plan to keep this book for when I have children one day to read them the classic stories of well known fairy tales, such as, The Snow Queen, The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and more. Some stories were better than others but I enjoyed reading these stories for myself even if it felt like it dragged on.

[Adriana Fernandes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a large but not complete collection, I overall enjoyed the ones about anthropomorphized objects or animals, but there where a few like the little mermaid, the snow queen and the ice maiden that included human or human like creatures that were interesting as well.
Though I did notice a trend that if the woman loved someone else they are going to die sad and alone, sometimes when they did love the man back as well which was a bit creepy.