Hans Christian Andersen

The stories of Hans Christian Andersen are known all over the world and he is one of the most translated authors of all time. Andersen’s fame rests on his fairy tales and stories, written between 1835 and 1872, among the best known of which are “The Ugly Duckling,” “The Little Mermaid,” “The Princess and the Pea,” “The Snow Queen,” “The Nightingale,” and “The Steadfast Tin Soldier.” With these fairy tales, inspired by the great tradition of the Arabian Nights and by the brothers Grimm, Andersen became known as the father of the modern fairytale. Moreover, Andersen’s works were original. Only twelve of his 156 known fairy stories drew on folktales. This complete collection of Andersen’s stories is based on Jean Hersholt’s classic translation.

Andersen’s stories have been widely illustrated by some of the best-known illustrators of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in particular those of the Edwardian period - the Golden Age of illustration - including W. Heath Robinson, Arthur Rackham, Mabel Lucie Atwell, Kay Nielsen and Edmund Dulac. Around ninety of the stories are illustrated with reproductions of original illustrations from classic Edwardian to contemporary illustrators. In addition, there are thirteen newly commissioned illustrations for some of Andersen’s less well-known stories.