Hans Christian Andersen was born in the slums of Odense. His father was a poor shoemaker and his mother, who worked as washerwoman, was uneducated and superstitious, but she opened for her son the world of folklore.

Andersen received little education, and as a child he was highly emotional, suffering all kinds of fears and humiliations because of his tallness and effeminate interests. Encouraged by his parents, he composed his own fairy tales and arranged puppet theatre shows.

In 1816 his father died and Andersen was forced to go to work. He was for a short time apprenticed to a weaver and tailor, and he also worked at a tobacco factory.

At the age of 14, Andersen moved to Copenhagen to start a career as a singer, dancer or an actor– he had a beautiful soprano voice. The following three years were full of hardships, although he found supporters who paved his way to the theatre. Andersen succeeded in becoming associated with the Royal Theatre, but he had to leave it when his voice began to change.

In 1822, Jonas Collin, one of the directors of the Royal Theatre and an influential government official, gave Andersen a grant to enter the grammar school at Slagelse. He lived in the home of the school headmaster Meisling, who was annoyed at the oversensitive student and tried to harden his character. His appearance drew unwanted attention– he had a long nose and close-set eyes.

Hans gained admission to Copenhagen University, where he completed his education. In 1828, Andersen wrote a travel sketch. Andersen’s poem ‘The Dying Child’, was published in a Copenhagen journal and the Royal Theatre produced in 1829 his musical drama. PHANTASIER OG SKISSER.

In succeeding years he also wrote impressionistic prose arabesques, plays, and novels. From 1831 onwards he travelled widely in Europe, and remained a passionate traveller all his life.

A visit to Germany in 1831 inspired the first of his many travel sketches. He later wrote sketches about Sweden, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the Middle East. During his journeys, Andersen met in Paris, among others, Victor Hugo, Heinrich Heine, Balzac, and Alexandre Dumas. ‘A Poet’s Day Dreams’ (1853) Andersen dedicated to Charles Dickens, whom he met in London in 1847. And in Rome he met the young Norwegian writer Bjˆrnson.

As a novelist, Andersen made his breakthrough with ‘The Improvisatore’ (1835), using Italy as the setting. The story was autobiographical and depicted a poor boy’s integration into society, an Ugly Duckling theme of self-discovery in which Andersen returned in several of his works.

However, Andersen’s fame rests on his ‘Fairy Tales and Stories’, written between 1835 and 1872. ‘Tales, Told for Children’, appeared in a small, cheap booklet in 1835.

The third volume of his tales, published in 1837, contained ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’ Among Andersen’s other best known fairy tales are ‘Little Ugly Duckling,’ ‘The Tinderbox,’ ‘Little Claus and Big Claus,’ ‘Princess and the Pea,’ ‘The Snow Queen,’ The Nightingale,’ and ‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier’.

In his fairy tale collections Andersen broke new ground in both style and content, and employed the idioms and constructions of spoken language in a way that was new in Danish writing.

Some of Andersen’s tales revealed an optimistic belief in the triumph of the good, among them ‘The Snow Queen’ and ‘Little Ugly Duckling’, and some ended unhappily, like ‘The Little Match Girl.’

His works influenced, among others, Charles Dickens, Willam Thackeray, Oscar Wilde, C.S Lewis, Isak Dinesen, and P.O. Enquist.

Between the years 1840 and 1857, Andersen made journeys throughout Europe, Asia Minor, and Africa, recording his impressions and adventures in a number of travel books. He wrote and rewrote his memoirs, ‘The Fairy Tale of My Life’.

Andersen died in his home in Rolighed on August 4, 1875. He never married. His last unfulfilled love was the singer Jenny Lind, who inspired ‘The Nightingale.’