Hans Christian Andersen

Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Ed. by Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen, University College London
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.2: Danish Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Julie Allen (Brigham Young University), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

Born 2 Apr 1805
Died 4 Aug 1875
Activity 1825-1875

Places

Born in Denmark
Active in Denmark

Genres and Modes

Fairy Tale

Activities

Primary

Children's/Young Adult writer
Story-writer

Other

Novelist
Playwright / Dramatist
Poet

Resources

Andersen's Works

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Despite coming from humble origins, and growing up in a small provincial Danish town in the early nineteenth century – a country which at that time counted little more than 1 million inhabitants – Hans Christian Andersen became one of the most famous authors in the world. A national icon in Denmark, Andersen’s fairy tales can be read in more than a hundred and fifty languages. He is listed among the ten most widely translated authors in the world, and especially his fairy tales have had a rich afterlife in animated films, such as Walt Disney’s

The Little Mermaid

(1989), been adapted for the stage and TV productions, and been reimagined by generations of writers from around the world, from Yi Shengtao to Joyce Carol Oates.

While he is arguably best known internationally for a dozen

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5193 words

Citation: Stougaard-Nielsen, Jakob. "Hans Christian Andersen". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 July 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=108, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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