Hans Christian Andersen was born April 2, 1805 in Odense on the Danish island of Funen. Andersen's father, Hans Andersen (1782-1816), was a poor shoemaker, mother Anna Marie Andersdatter (1775-1833), was a laundress from a poor family, she had to beg in her childhood, she was buried in a cemetery for the poor. In Denmark, there is a legend about Andersen's royal origin, because in an early biography, Andersen wrote that as a child he played with Prince Frits, later King Frederick VII, and he had no friends among street boys - only a prince. Andersen's friendship with Prince Frits, according to Andersen's fantasy, continued into adulthood, until the latter's death. After the death of Frits, with the exception of relatives, only Andersen was admitted to the coffin of the deceased. The reason for this fantasy was the stories of the boy's father that he was a relative of the king. From childhood, the future writer showed a penchant for dreaming and writing, often staged impromptu home performances that caused laughter and mockery of children. In the city, Andersen's father died, and the boy had to work for food. He was an apprentice first to a weaver, then to a tailor. Andersen then worked in a cigarette factory. In early childhood, Hans Christian was an introverted child with big blue eyes who sat in a corner and played his favorite game, puppetry. This is the only occupation he kept in his youth.
At the age of 14, Andersen went to Copenhagen, his mother let him go, as she hoped that he would stay there for a while and return. When she asked the reason why he was leaving her and the house, young Andersen immediately replied: “To become famous!” He went with the goal of getting a job in the theater, motivating this with his love for everything connected with him. He received money through a letter of recommendation from a colonel in whose family he staged his performances as a child. During the year of his life in Copenhagen, he tried to get into the theater. First, he came to the house of a famous singer and, bursting into tears from excitement, asked her to arrange him in the theater. She, just to get rid of the annoying strange lanky teenager, promised to arrange everything, but, of course, did not fulfill her promise. Much later, she will tell Andersen that she simply mistook him for a madman then. Hans Christian was a lanky teenager with elongated and thin limbs, a neck and an equally long nose, he was the quintessential Ugly Duckling. But thanks to his pleasant voice and his requests, as well as out of pity, Hans Christian, despite his ineffectual appearance, was accepted into the Royal Theater, where he played minor roles. He was less and less involved, and then the age-related breakdown of his voice began, and he was fired. Andersen, meanwhile, composed a play in 5 acts and wrote a letter to the king, convincing him to give money for its publication. This book also included poetry. Hans Christian took care of the advertising and made an announcement in the newspaper. The book was printed, but no one bought it, it went to the cover. He did not lose hope and took his book to the theater so that a performance could be staged based on the play. He was refused with the wording "due to the complete lack of experience of the author." But he was offered to study because of the good attitude towards him, seeing his desire. Sympathetic to the poor and sensitive boy, people petitioned the King of Denmark Frederick VI, who allowed him to study at a school in the town of Slagels, and then at another school in Elsinore at the expense of the treasury. This meant that it would no longer be necessary to think about a piece of bread, about how to live on. The students at the school were 6 years younger than Andersen. He later recalled the years of study at school as the darkest time of his life, due to the fact that he was severely criticized by the rector of the educational institution and was painfully worried about this until the end of his days - he saw the rector in nightmares. Andersen completed his studies in 1827. Until the end of his life, he made many grammatical errors in writing - Andersen never mastered the letter.
Andersen did not fit the image of a storyteller surrounded by children, telling them his tales. His isolation and self-centeredness resulted in a dislike for children. When the famous sculptor wanted to portray the already famous storyteller surrounded by children, he was so angry that he kicked him out and said that he did not have the habit of talking with children. He died all alone.
1 Act: 2 Epigraphs, 38 Theatrical Pictures * Length: Approximately 28 minutes * The opera version (Free transcription) Written by Lev Konov (1996) On music of Sergei Prokofiev: The Ugly Duckling, op. 18 (1914) And Visions Fugitives, op. 22 (1915-1917) * (Vocal score language: Russian, English, German, French)
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G. H. Andersen's house in Odense |
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Monument in Copenhagen |
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Grave of H. H. Andersen |
Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805 in the city of Odense on the island of Funen (in some sources the island of Fionia is named), in the family of a shoemaker and a laundress. Andersen heard the first fairy tales from his father, who read him stories from the Thousand and One Nights; along with fairy tales, my father loved to sing songs and make toys. From his mother, who dreamed of Hans Christian becoming a tailor, he learned to cut and sew. As a child, the future storyteller often had to communicate with patients in the hospital for the mentally ill, in which his maternal grandmother worked. The boy enthusiastically listened to their stories and later wrote that he was "made a writer of his father's songs and the speeches of the insane." From childhood, the future writer showed a penchant for dreaming and writing, often staging impromptu home performances.
In 1816, Andersen's father died, and the boy had to work for food. He was an apprentice first to a weaver, then to a tailor. Andersen later worked in a cigarette factory.
In 1819, having earned some money and bought the first boots, Hans Christian Andersen went to Copenhagen. The first three years in Copenhagen, Andersen connects his life with the theater: he makes an attempt to become an actor, writes tragedies and dramas. In 1822, the play "The Sun of the Elves" was published. The drama turned out to be an immature, weak work, but it attracted the attention of the theater management, with which the novice author was collaborating at that time. The board of directors secured scholarships for Andersen and the right to free study at the gymnasium. A seventeen-year-old boy enters the second grade of a Latin school and, despite the ridicule of his comrades, finishes it.
In 1826-1827, Andersen's first poems ("Evening", "The Dying Child") were published, which received a positive response from critics. In 1829, his fantasy-style short story "A Walking Journey from the Holmen Canal to the Eastern End of Amager" was published. In 1835, Andersen brought fame to "Tales". In 1839 and 1845, the second and third books of fairy tales were written respectively.
In the second half of the 1840s and in the following years, Andersen continued to publish novels and plays, trying in vain to become famous as a playwright and novelist. At the same time, he despised his fairy tales, which brought him the fame he deserved. Nevertheless, he continued to write more and more. The last tale was written by Andersen on Christmas Day 1872.
In 1872, the writer was seriously injured as a result of a fall, from which he was treated for three years. On August 4, 1875, Hans Christian Andersen died. He was buried in Copenhagen at the Assistance Cemetery.
Hans Christian Andersen is an outstanding Danish writer and poet, as well as the author of world-famous fairy tales for children and adults.
He wrote such brilliant works as The Ugly Duckling, The King's New Dress, Thumbelina, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Princess and the Pea, Ole Lukoye, The Snow Queen and many others.
Many animated and feature films have been shot based on Andersen's works.
So in front of you short biography of Hans Andersen.
Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805 in the Danish city of Odense. Hans was named after his father, who was a shoemaker.
His mother, Anna Marie Andersdatter, was a poorly educated girl who worked all her life as a laundress. The family lived very poorly and barely made ends meet.
An interesting fact is that Andersen's father sincerely believed that he belonged to a noble family, since his mother told him about this. In fact, everything was quite the opposite.
To date, biographers have established for sure that the Andersen family came from the lower class.
However, this social position did not prevent Hans Andersen from becoming a great writer. Love for the boy was instilled in his father, who often read him fairy tales from different authors.
In addition, he periodically went to the theater with his son, accustoming him to high art.
When the young man was 11 years old, trouble happened in his biography: his father died. Andersen took his loss very hard, and for a long time was in a depressed state.
Studying at school also became a real test for him. He, as well as other students, was often beaten with rods by teachers for the slightest violations. For this reason, he became a very nervous and vulnerable child.
Hans soon persuaded his mother to drop out of school. After that, he began attending a charity school attended by children from poor families.
Having received basic knowledge, the young man got a job as an apprentice at a weaver. After that, Hans Andersen sewed clothes, and later worked in a tobacco factory.
An interesting fact is that while working at the factory, he had practically no friends. His colleagues mocked him in every possible way, releasing sarcastic jokes in his direction.
Once, Andersen's pants were lowered in front of everyone in order to allegedly find out what gender he was. And all because he had a high and sonorous voice, similar to a woman's.
After this incident, hard days came in Andersen's biography: he finally withdrew into himself and stopped communicating with anyone. At that point in time, Hans' only friends were wooden dolls, which his father had made for him a long time ago.
At the age of 14, the young man went to Copenhagen, because he dreamed of fame and recognition. It is worth noting that he did not have an attractive appearance.
Hans Andersen was a thin teenager with long limbs and an equally long nose. However, despite this, he was accepted into the Royal Theater, in which he played supporting roles. It is interesting that during this period he began to write his first works.
When the financier Jonas Collin saw his play on stage, he fell in love with Andersen.
As a result, Collin convinced King Frederick VI to pay for the education of a promising actor and writer from the state treasury. After that, Hans was able to study at the elite schools of Slagels and Elsinore.
It is curious that Andersen's fellow students were students who were 6 years younger than him in age. The most difficult subject for the future writer was grammar.
Andersen made a lot of spelling mistakes, for which he constantly heard reproaches from teachers.
Hans Christian Andersen is best known as a children's writer. More than 150 fairy tales came out from his pen, many of which have become classics of world significance. In addition to fairy tales, Andersen wrote poetry, plays, short stories and even novels.
He didn't like being called a children's writer. Andersen has repeatedly stated that he writes not only for kids, but also for adults. He even ordered that there should not be a single child on his monument, although initially he was supposed to be surrounded by children.
Monument to Hans Christian Andersen in Copenhagen It is worth noting that serious works, like novels and plays, were quite difficult for Andersen, but fairy tales were written surprisingly easily and simply. At the same time, he was inspired by any objects that were around him.
Over the years of his biography, Andersen wrote many fairy tales in which one can trace. Among such fairy tales, one can single out "Flint", "Swineherd", "Wild Swans" and others.
In 1837 (when he was assassinated), Andersen published the collection Tales Told to Children. The collection immediately gained great popularity in society.
It is interesting that, despite the simplicity of Andersen's fairy tales, each of them has a deep meaning with philosophical overtones. After reading them, the child can independently understand morality and draw the right conclusions.
Andersen soon wrote the fairy tales "Thumbelina", "The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling", which are still loved by children all over the world.
Later, Hans wrote the novels "Two Baronesses" and "To Be or Not to Be", designed for an adult audience. However, these works went unnoticed, since Andersen was perceived primarily as a children's writer.
Andersen's most popular fairy tales are The King's New Dress, The Ugly Duckling, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Thumbelina, The Princess and the Pea, Ole Lukoye, and The Snow Queen.
Some biographers of Andersen suggest that the great storyteller was not indifferent to the male sex. Such conclusions are drawn on the basis of the surviving romantic letters that he wrote to men.
It is worth noting that officially he was never married and had no children. In his diaries, he later admitted that he had decided to give up intimate relationships with women, because they did not reciprocate.
Hans Christian Andersen reading a book to children In the biography of Hans Andersen, there were at least 3 girls for whom he felt sympathy. Even at a young age, he fell in love with Riborg Voigt, but never dared to confess his feelings to her.
The next beloved of the writer was Louise Collin. She turned down Andersen's proposal and married a wealthy lawyer.
In 1846, there was another passion in Andersen's biography: he fell in love with the opera singer Jenny Lind, who charmed him with her voice.
After her speeches, Hans gave her flowers and recited poetry, trying to achieve reciprocity. However, this time he failed to win a woman's heart.
Soon the singer married a British composer, as a result of which the unfortunate Andersen fell into depression. An interesting fact is that later Jenny Lind will become the prototype of the famous Snow Queen.
At the age of 67, Andersen fell out of bed and received many serious bruises. Over the next 3 years, he suffered from his injuries, but was never able to recover from them.
Hans Christian Andersen died on August 4, 1875 at the age of 70. The great storyteller was buried at the Assistance Cemetery in Copenhagen.
At the end you can see the most famous Andersen. I must say that Hans Christian was not distinguished by an attractive appearance. However, under his clumsy and even ridiculous appearance was an incredibly refined, deep, wise and loving person.
Name: Hans Christian Andersen
Age: 70 years old
Place of Birth: Odense, Denmark
A place of death: Copenhagen, Denmark
Activity: writer, poet, storyteller
Family status: not married
Hans Christian Andersen - Biography
Who is unfamiliar with Andersen? Perhaps there is no such person. If they don’t know his last name, then they certainly know all of his fairy-tale heroes. His works are still being republished, films are made based on them and cartoons are drawn. They are included in the compulsory school curriculum. And not to get acquainted with the biography of this amazing person is just a crime.
Childhood, family
Hans Christian Andersen was born into the family of a shoemaker and laundress. The town in Denmark where the family lived was small. The father always read fairy tales to the boy. And the theater was the child's favorite pastime. Puppets for the home theater were made by ourselves. They were made of wood and sewn patchwork clothes for them. Hans was happy to compose various stories, and he had a rich imagination. Only now he did not know how to write down at that time, only at the age of ten he was able to comprehend the basics of science. But the biography of the baby's education began usually, like everyone else.
Predictions
One day, the mother turned to a fortuneteller to find out about the fate of her son. Great was her surprise when she heard that Hans was going to be famous. And then miracles began, with which the biography of the writer abounds. Once a real puppet theater came to the city on tour, which needed an artist. Hans managed to get this free seat. Puppeteers gave performances for rich people.
The boy dreamed of becoming an actor in the royal theater, for this rich people were needed - one colonel gave Hans good recommendations. At the age of 14, the future great storyteller, with the blessing of his mother, left for Copenhagen. He went to become famous.
Andersen's independent life
Everything went well, the boy had a well-trained voice, and he was assigned small roles. Hans grew up and was fired from the theater as an unpromising actor. But we must pay tribute to his imagination, which the poet Ingeman managed to notice. The ruling at that time Frederick VI wrote a petition asking him to provide Andersen with a free education.
Writer's career, books
As a writer, Hans Christian Andersen began to take shape at the age of 25, when his first fantasy story was published. Hans gets the opportunity to see Europe while traveling on the money from the royal prize. Andersen had already firmly decided that he would write fairy tales. And when his stories began to diverge in large numbers, the journalists asked who tells the author stories. The storyteller was quite surprised by this question. Why is what he writes about not seen by his readers?
Tales of Andersen
How can you now do without the "Snow Queen", "Thumbelina" and "The Little Mermaid"? Thanks to Andersen, everyone can test the crowned lady and find out if she is a real princess. You can learn courage from the Steadfast Tin Soldier, and from the Ugly Duckling loyalty and simplicity. In Denmark, there are monuments not only to the storyteller, but also to his heroes: the incomparable Little Mermaid, Ole Lukoya with his invariable multi-colored umbrella of dreams.
Hans Christian Andersen - biography of personal life
The great storyteller, inventor and dreamer was not married, he had no children. The storyteller had men and women as friends. The great Andersen had no sexual relations with either women or men. The first potential lover was the sister of a comrade, to whom he did not dare to confess his feelings. With the second chosen one, Hans was passionate and in love, but all his efforts were rejected in favor of a successful lawyer.
In Paris, he was a frequent visitor to the red-light districts, but for the most part the storyteller talked with young ladies about his life. The biography of the writer, who had liver cancer, was coming to its logical conclusion. And before his death, he fell out of bed, hurt himself very badly, lived for another three years, never recovering from his injuries during the fall.
– Travel on foot from the Holmen Canal to the eastern cape of the island of Amager
- Love on the Nikolaev Tower
– Agnetha and Vodyanoy
– Improviser
- Only violinist
– Fairy tales told for children
- The Steadfast Tin Soldier
– Picture book without pictures
– Nightingale
- Ugly duck
- The Snow Queen
- Girl with matches
- Shadow
- Two baronesses
- To be or not to be
Christmas card with G.-H. Andersen. Illustrator Klaus Becker - Olsen
One of mankind's greatest storytellers even took offense at being called a "children's writer." He claimed that his works were addressed to everyone and considered himself a solid, "adult" writer and playwright.
April 2, 1805 in the family of the shoemaker Hans Andersen and the laundress Anna Marie Andersdatter in the city of Odense, located on one of the Danish islands - Fyn, the only son, Hans Christian Andersen, was born.
Andersen's grandfather, Anders Hansen, a wood carver, was considered crazy in the city. He carved strange half-human, half-animal figures with wings.
Grandmother Andersen Sr. told him about the belonging of their ancestors to the "high society". Researchers have not found evidence of this story in the family tree of the storyteller.
Perhaps Hans Christian fell in love with fairy tales thanks to his father. Unlike his wife, he was literate and read aloud to his son various magical stories, including “A Thousand and One Nights”.
There is also a legend about the royal origin of Hans Christian Andersen. He was allegedly the illegitimate son of King Christian VIII.
In an early autobiography, the storyteller himself wrote about how, as a child, he played with Prince Frits, the future King Frederick VII, son of Christian VIII. Hans Christian, according to his version, had no friends among the street boys - only the prince.
Andersen's friendship with Frits, the storyteller claimed, continued into adulthood, until the death of the king. The writer said that he was the only person, with the exception of relatives, who was allowed to visit the coffin of the deceased.
Hans Christian's father died when he was 11 years old. The boy was sent to study at a school for poor children, which he attended from time to time. He worked as an apprentice with a weaver, then with a tailor.
From childhood, Andersen was in love with the theater and often played puppet shows at home.
Twisted in his own fairy-tale worlds, he grew up as a sensitive, vulnerable boy, he had a hard time studying, and not the most spectacular appearance left almost no chance for theatrical success.
At the age of 14, Andersen went to Copenhagen to become famous, and over time he succeeded!
However, success was preceded by years of failure and even greater poverty than the one in which he lived in Odense.
The young Hans Christian had an excellent soprano. Thanks to him, he was taken to the boys' choir. Soon his voice began to change and he was fired.
He tried to become a dancer in ballet, but did not succeed either. Lanky, clumsy with poor coordination - the dancer from Hans Christian turned out to be useless.
He tried physical labor, again without much success.
In 1822, the seventeen-year-old Andersen was finally lucky: he met Jonas Collin, director of the Royal Danish Theater (De Kongelige Teater). Hans Christian at that time already tried his hand at writing, he wrote, however, mostly poetry.
Jonas Collin was familiar with Andersen's work. In his opinion, the young man had the makings of a great writer. He was able to convince King Frederick VI of this. He agreed to partially pay for the education of Hans Christian.
For the next five years, the young man studied at schools in Slagelse and Helsingør. Both are located near Copenhagen. Helsingør Castle is world famous as a place
Hans Christian Andersen was not an outstanding student. In addition, he was older than his classmates, they teased him, and the teachers laughed at the son of an illiterate laundress from Odense, who was going to become a writer.
In addition, as modern researchers suggest, Hans Christian most likely had dyslexia. It was probably because of her that he studied poorly and wrote Danish with errors for the rest of his life.
Andersen called the years of study the most bitter time of his life. What he had to do is beautifully described in the fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling".
In 1827, due to constant bullying, Jonas Collin withdrew Hans Christian from the school in Helsingør and transferred him to home schooling in Copenhagen.
In 1828, Andersen passed the exam, which testified to the completion of his secondary education and allowed him to continue his studies at the University of Copenhagen.
A year later, the young writer had his first success after publishing a short story, a comedy and several poems.
In 1833, Hans Christian Andersen received a royal grant that allowed him to travel. He spent the next 16 months touring Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France.
Italy was especially fond of the Danish writer. The first trip was followed by others. In total, throughout his life, he went on long trips abroad about 30 times.
In total, he spent about 15 years traveling.
Many have heard the phrase “to travel is to live”. Not everyone knows that this is a quote from Andersen.
In 1835, Andersen's first novel, The Improviser, was published and became popular immediately after publication. In the same year, a collection of fairy tales was published, which also earned praise from the reading public.
The four stories included in the book were written for a little girl named Ide Tiele, daughter of the secretary of the Academy of Arts. In total, Hans Christian Andersen published about 160 fairy tales - despite the fact that he himself was not married, did not have, and did not particularly like children.
In the early 1840s, the writer began to gain fame outside of Denmark. When in 1846 he arrived in Germany, and the next year in England, he was already received there as a foreign celebrity.
In the UK, the son of a shoemaker and a laundress was invited to high society receptions. On one of them he met Charles Dickens.
Shortly before the death of Hans Christian Andersen, he was recognized in England as the greatest living writer.
Meanwhile, during the Victorian era, his works were published in the UK not in translations, but in "retellings". There is a lot of sadness, violence, cruelty and even death in the original fairy tales of the Danish writer.
They did not correspond to the ideas of the British of the second half of the 19th century about children's literature. Therefore, before publication in English, the most “non-childish” fragments were removed from the works of Hans Christian Andersen.
To this day, in the UK, the books of the Danish writer are published in two very different versions - in the classic "retellings" of the Victorian era and in more modern translations that correspond to the original texts.
Andersen was tall, thin and round-shouldered. He loved to visit and never refused treats (perhaps a hungry childhood had an effect).
However, he himself was generous, treated friends and acquaintances, came to their rescue and tried not to refuse help even to strangers.
At the same time, the character of the storyteller was very nasty and anxious: he was afraid of robberies, dogs, losing his passport; he was afraid to die in a fire, so he always carried a rope with him in order to get out through the window during a fire.
Hans Christian Andersen suffered from toothache all his life, and seriously believed that his fertility as an author depended on the number of teeth in his mouth.
The storyteller was afraid of poisoning - when the Scandinavian children chipped in for a gift to their favorite writer and sent him the world's largest box of chocolates, he was horrified to refuse the gift and sent it to his nieces (we already mentioned that he did not particularly like children).
In the mid-1860s, Hans Christian Andersen became the owner of the autograph of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
Traveling in Switzerland, in August 1862 he met the daughters of the Russian General Karl Manderstern. In his diary, he described frequent meetings with young women, during which they talked a lot about literature and art.
In a letter dated August 28, 1868, Andersen wrote: “I am glad to know that my works are being read in great, mighty Russia, whose flourishing literature I know in part, from Karamzin to Pushkin and up to modern times.”
The eldest of the Mandershtern sisters, Elizaveta Karlovna, promised the Danish writer to get Pushkin's autograph for his collection of manuscripts.
She was able to fulfill her promise three years later.
Thanks to her, the Danish writer became the owner of a page from the notebook, in which in 1825, preparing for publication his first collection of poems, Alexander Pushkin rewrote several works selected by him.
Pushkin's autograph, which is now in the collection of Andersen's manuscripts in the Copenhagen Royal Library, is all that has survived from the 1825 notebook.
Among the friends of Hans Christian Andersen were royalty. It is known for sure that he was patronized by the Danish princess Dagmar, the future Empress Maria Feodorovna, the mother of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.
The princess was very kind to the elderly writer. They talked for a long time, walking along the embankment.
Hans Christian Andersen was among those Danes who accompanied her to Russia. After parting with the young princess, he wrote in his diary: “Poor child! Almighty, be merciful to her and merciful. Her fate is terrible.
The storyteller's prediction came true. Maria Feodorovna was destined to survive her husband, children and grandchildren who died a terrible death.
In 1919, she managed to leave Russia engulfed in civil war. She died in Denmark in 1928.
Researchers of the biography of Hans Christian Andersen do not have a clear answer to the question of his sexual orientation. He certainly wanted to please women. However, it is known that he fell in love with girls with whom he could not have a relationship.
In addition, he was very shy and awkward, especially in the presence of women. The writer knew about this, which only increased his awkwardness when dealing with the opposite sex.
In 1840, in Copenhagen, he met a girl named Jenny Lind. On September 20, 1843, he wrote in his diary "I love!". He dedicated poems to her and wrote fairy tales for her. She addressed him exclusively as “brother” or “child”, although he was under 40, and she was only 26 years old. In 1852, Jenny Lind married the young pianist Otto Goldschmidt.
In 2014, it was announced in Denmark that previously unknown letters from Hans Christian Andersen had been found.
In them, the writer confessed to his longtime friend Christian Voit that several poems written by him after Ryborg's marriage were inspired by feelings for a girl whom he called the love of his life.
Judging by the fact that he wore a letter from Ryborg in a pouch around his neck until his death, Andersen really loved the girl throughout his life.
Other well-known personal letters from the storyteller suggest that he may have had a connection with the Danish ballet dancer Harald Scharff. The comments of contemporaries about their alleged relationship are also known.
However, there is no proof that Hans Christian Andersen was bisexual - and there is little chance that there will ever be.
The writer to this day remains a mystery, a unique personality whose thoughts and feelings were and remain shrouded in mystery.
Andersen did not want to have his own house, he was especially afraid of furniture, and of furniture most of all - beds. The writer was afraid that the bed would become the place of his death. Some of his fears were justified. At the age of 67, he fell out of bed and received severe injuries, which he treated for another three years, until his death.
It is believed that in old age Andersen became even more extravagant: spending a lot of time in brothels, he did not touch the girls who worked there, but simply talked to them.
Although almost a century and a half has passed since the death of the storyteller, previously unknown documents telling about his life, letters from Hans Christian Andersen, are still found in his homeland from time to time.
In 2012, a previously unknown fairy tale called "The Tallow Candle" was found in Denmark.
“This is a sensational discovery. On the one hand, because this is most likely Andersen's very first fairy tale, on the other hand, it shows that he was interested in fairy tales at a young age, before he became a writer, ”said Einar, a specialist in Andersen’s work, about the find. Stig Askgor from the City Museum of Odense.
He also suggested that the discovered manuscript "The Tallow Candle" was created by the storyteller at school - around 1822.
The project of the first monument to Hans Christian Andersen began to be discussed during his lifetime.
In December 1874, in connection with the approaching seventieth birthday of the storyteller, plans were announced to install his sculptural image in the Royal Garden of Rosenborg Castle, where he liked to walk.
A commission was assembled and a competition for projects was announced. 10 participants proposed a total of 16 works.
The project of August Sobyue won. The sculptor depicted the storyteller sitting in an armchair surrounded by children. The project aroused the outrage of Hans Christian.
“I could not even say a word in such an atmosphere,” said the writer Augusto Sobue. The sculptor removed the children, and Hans Christian was left alone with only one book in his hands.
Hans Christian Andersen died on August 4, 1875 from liver cancer. The day of Andersen's funeral was declared a day of mourning in Denmark.
The farewell ceremony was attended by members of the royal family.
Located in the Assistance Cemetery in Copenhagen.
