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Andersen's Fairy Tales

Name: Andersen's Fairy Tales
Author: Hans Christian Andersen
ISBN: 9780451532077

by Hans Christian Andersen, Joanne Greenberg (Afterword)

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Overview

A gawky, dreamy boy, Hans Christian Andersen grew up to become a profoundly imaginative writer and storyteller who revolutionized literature for children. Andersen gave us the now standard versions of some traditional folk tales as well as original stories that have enchanted generations of readers. To commemorate the bicentennial of his birth, Viking will publish a new translation of thirty of his extraordinary tales, illustrated with Andersen's own paper cuts. From the exuberant early stories such as "The Tinderbox" and "The Emperor's New Clothes" through poignant masterpieces such as "The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling," to darker, more subversive later tales written for adults, the stories here are endlessly experimental, humorous and irreverent, sorrowful and strange. Tiina Nunnally's sparkling new translation captures-for the first time in English-the vibrancy of Andersen's voice. Compiled by Andersen's biographer Jackie Wullschlager, who also contributes notes and a captivating introduction, this volume will be a major literary event that will dazzle readers young and old.

Presents a collection of Andersen's fairy tales.

Synopsis

For more than 150 years, Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved fairy tales have charmed and entertained audiences around the world. Blending old folk tales with fantasy, the Danish bard’s stories are rich in humor and sharp with irony. The forty-seven fables in this beautifully translated collection tell of kings and princesses, of farm boys and mermaids, of witches and ogres. Some of the tales—like The Little Match Girl and The Emperor’s New Clothes—we know by heart. Others—like The Jumpers and The Flying Trunk—are sure to become instant favorites. Packed with memorable characters (who could forget the Ugly Duckling or the Little Mermaid?), Andersen’s fairy tales have withstood the test of time, delighting generation after generation of children and adults—and they promise to remain bedtime favorites for centuries to come…

Translated by Pat Shaw Iversen

With a New Introduction

And an Afterword by Joanne Greenberg

Illustrated with line drawings

About the Author, Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was born in 1805 in Odense, Denmark. His father was a poor cobbler, his mother nearly illiterate. At fourteen, armed with little more than sheer determination, Andersen went to Copenhagen, where he succeeded in winning the patronage of several prominent citizens, and acquired some formal schooling. In 1829, his poems, plays, and travel sketches began to appear. In 1835, his first novel, The Improvisatore, met with considerable success. That same year, he published his first collection of tales, to be followed over the years by further creations in a genre he made singularly his own. His life was marked by extensive travels, enormous popularity, the friendship of many leading personalities of the era, and the highest honors of his native land. By the time of his death in 1875, this gauche, awkward figure, born in the humblest of circumstances, had enjoyed a career that might well have come out of one of his most imaginative tales. Joanne Greenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1932. She graduated from American University and presently teaches at the Colorado School of Mines. The author of many award-winning novels, including I Never Promised You a Rose Garden and In This Sign, she lives in Denver, Colorado.

Biography

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, to a poor family. He left home as a 14-year-old to seek his fortune at the theatre in Copenhagen. Andersen began writing plays and poetry before he left for Copenhagen, but it was not until 1835 that he published the first of the fairytales that would bring him international renown. Since then, his over 200 fairytales have enjoyed undiminished popularity, providing the basis for favorite American interpretations such as Disney's The Little Mermaid.

Biography courtesy of HarperCollins

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

Fairy tale classics from Hans Christian Andersen and illustrations by internationally acclaimed artist Lisbeth Zwerger -- it doesn't get better than this! Originally published in 1991, this stunning collection has been redesigned and expanded with three stories. From familiar tales, such as "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Princess and the Pea" to lesser-known stories, such as "The Sandman" and "The Jumpers," the collection is fully illustrated in Zwerger's elegant and eye-catching signature style.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, edited and illus. by Lisbeth Zwerger, trans. by Anthea Bell, originally published in 1991, includes three additional stories, and its new design matches Zwerger's Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. The 11 tales include the familiar ("The Little Match Girl") and the lesser-known ("The Sandman"). Zwerger's signature watercolors come alive in full-page illustrations elegantly and simply framed in a band of white. From grief-stricken Thumbeline leaning over the dead swallow to the self-deluded, nearly naked emperor admiring himself vainly in the mirror, the artwork conveys a range of emotions. ( May) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

From Barnes & Noble

The tales of Hans Christian Andersen are known and loved from one end of the world to the other and can be summed up by using one word: magical. Everything in Andersen's world is animated: people, animals, and even objects, providing hours of endless reading enjoyment for children, and adults, of all ages. With classic stories such as "The Real Princess," "Thumbelina," "The Ugly Duckling," and "The Emperor's New Clothes," and many others, this collection is storytelling at its finest.