Andersen's Fairy Tales Complete Collection · The Lark Volume

Author: Hans Christian Andersen (Danish) Hu Zhihong Yu Jijun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: Hans Christian Andersen was a famous Danish fairy tale writer in the 19th century and the founder of world literary fairy tales. He was born into a poor shoemaker family in Odense City. In his early years, he attended a charitable school and worked as an apprentice. Influenced by his father and folk oral literature, he had a deep love for literature from a young age. At the age of 11, his father passed away, and his mother remarried. To pursue art, he came to the capital, Copenhagen, alone at the age of 14. After 8 years of struggle, he finally showed his talent in the poetic drama "Alfons." As a result, the Royal Danish Theatre sent him to the Slagelse Grammar School and Helsing?r School for free education, which lasted for 5 years. In 1828, he enrolled at the University of Copenhagen. After graduation, he remained jobless and mainly relied on his earnings from writing. In 1838, he received a writer's stipend, and the state provided him with a non-official allowance of 200 Danish rigsdaler annually. Hans Christian Andersen never married and passed away on August 4, 1875, at the home of his friend, the merchant Michael Pedersen.
Hans Christian Andersen's literary career began in 1822. In his early years, he mainly wrote poetry and plays. After entering university, his writing became more mature. He published travelogues and operettas, as well as poetry collections and poetic dramas. In 1833, he published the novel "The Improvisatore," which earned him international acclaim and is considered a masterpiece of his adult literature. "For the sake of future generations," Andersen decided to write fairy tales for children and published "Stories Told to Children." For the following several years, he published a collection of such fairy tales every Christmas. He continued to publish new works until 1872, when he gradually stopped writing due to cancer. Over nearly 40 years, he wrote a total of 168 fairy tales.
Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales have a unique artistic style: poetic beauty and comic humor. The former is the dominant style, often reflected in celebratory tales, while the latter is more prominent in satirical ones. Andersen's creative works can be divided into three periods: early, middle, and late. Early fairy tales are filled with fantastical imagination and an optimistic spirit, embodying a blend of realism and romanticism. Representative works include "The Tinderbox," "Little Tycho's Flowers," "Thumbelina," "The Little Mermaid," "The Wild Swans," and "The Ugly Duckling." Middle-period fairy tales reduce the fantastical elements and increase the realistic ones. In condemning evil and praising goodness, they reflect an unwavering pursuit of a better life, while also revealing a melancholic sense of disillusionment. Representative works include "The Little Match Girl," "Snow White," "The Shadow," "A Drop of Water," "Mother's Tale," and "The Puppet Master." Late-period fairy tales are even more grounded in reality, focusing on the hardships of the lower classes and exposing the cold, dark, and unfair aspects of social life. The tone of these works is somber. Representative works include "Dream Under the Willow Tree," "She Is a Waste," "The Bachelor's Nightcap," and "Belle of the Fortunes."