Hans Christian Andersen portrait. Hans Christian Andersen - biography, information, personal life

G.K. Andersen is a famous Danish storyteller whose works are familiar to adults and children around the world. He was born on April 2, 1805 in the family of a poor shoemaker and laundress. The father doted on his son. He read fairy tales to the boy, walked and played with him, made toys for him himself, and once even made a home puppet theater.

When Hans was only 11 years old, his father died. The guy attended school occasionally, because he had to earn extra money. He was first a weaver's apprentice, then a tailor. Then he worked for some time in a factory that produced cigarettes.

Andersen was very fond of the theater, so in 1819, dreaming of learning acting and becoming famous, he moved to Copenhagen. Thanks to a good soprano, he was accepted into the Royal Theater, but only minor roles were trusted. Soon the young man was fired, because he began to break his voice. Attempts to become a ballet dancer were unsuccessful. The first steps in the literary field also ended in failure.

Fate smiled at Andersen after he met Jonas Collin, who saw great creative inclinations in the young man and petitioned the king for a scholarship for education at the gymnasium. In 1827, Hans switched to home schooling. A year later he entered the University of Copenhagen.

He managed to combine classes at the university with the activities of a screenwriter and author of prose. The fees received gave Andersen the opportunity to travel to Germany. Then the writer traveled abroad 29 times. During his travels, he met many prominent people, and made friends with some of them.

In 1835, his novel The Improviser and a collection of 4 fairy tales were published. G.K. Andersen becomes popular. Later, he published several more novels, plays and many works of other literary genres. But the main thing in the creative heritage of an outstanding writer are fairy tales. He created 212 of them during his life.

In 1867, Andersen received the rank of state councilor and the title of honorary citizen of his native city of Odense.

In 1872, he fell out of bed and was badly injured. The writer died on August 4, 1875 (cause of death - liver cancer). On the day of his funeral, all of Denmark was in mourning.

Biography 2

The life of the great Danish writer was surprisingly interesting. Before becoming a famous and wealthy person, he had to experience a lot of grief.

Andersen was born in 1805 in the city of Odense in the family of a shoemaker. He spent his childhood years in a small, modest closet. The boy grew up as an only and spoiled child. His father devoted all his free time to Hans and his wife, reading to them in the evenings La Fontaine's fables and Gulberg's comedies. The boy had a lot of toys that the head of the family made. Christian learned to read at a school run by an elderly woman. Then his mother sent him to a boys' school, where he continued his studies. When Andersen was 12 years old, he had to work in a cloth factory. There he could study only in the evening at an educational institution for the poor. However, this did not stop the boy from trying. He especially liked to read and listen to fairy tales.

September 6, 1819 Andersen arrives in Copenhagen, where he meets the director of the Royal Conservatory Sibbony. He starts to sing with him, and Sibbony says that he can make a great career. However, Andersen loses his voice, and he again has to live in poverty, moonlighting in a carpentry workshop. Soon he gets a job in the theater, where he is noticed by the choirmaster Crossing. Hans began to devote himself to theatrical creativity with all his heart and even skipped free evening lessons.

In 1822, he was fired from the choir and ballet school, and again no one needed him. Then Andersen decided to write a play that would be staged in the theater. And he creates the tragedy "Alfsol". And then one of the representatives of the creative circle Gutfeld recommended his work to the theater directorate. And although his essay was not put on stage, the directorate, headed by Jonas Collin, began to petition for his enrollment in some school. Collin helped him study for free at the gymnasium. Then he continues his studies at the University of Copenhagen. Andersen travels extensively in Europe, where he meets Hugo, Dumas and other famous writers of that era.

From 1835 to 1841, the writer's collections appeared under the title "Tales Told for Children". In his fairy tales, he wrote only the truth that the boy from the work about the naked king spoke. Andersen became the first good adviser for all children. And, of course, adults did not stand aside, since once they also had the same childhood. The writer's fairy tales present a lot of wisdom and valuable advice that is so needed in life. And although he became such a famous writer, in his personal life he remained a lonely man. Andersen died in 1875 all alone.

Christmas card with G.-H. Andersen. Illustrator Klaus Becker - Olsen

The biography of Hans Christian Andersen is the story of a boy from a poor family who, thanks to his talent, became famous all over the world, was friends with princesses and kings, but remained lonely, frightened and touchy all his life

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 Andersen specialist Einar Stig Askgaard from the Odense City Museum about the find.

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.

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.

• Andersen was angry when he was called a children's storyteller and said that he wrote fairy tales for both children and adults. For the same reason, he ordered that all children's figures be removed from his monument, where the storyteller was originally supposed to be surrounded by children.
• Andersen had the autograph of A. S. Pushkin.
• The tale of H. H. Andersen "The King's New Dress" was placed in the first primer by L. N. Tolstoy.
• Andersen has a fairy tale about Isaac Newton.
• In the fairy tale "Two Brothers" G. H. Andersen wrote about the famous brothers Hans Christian and Anders Oersted.
• The name of the fairy tale "Ole Lukoye" is translated as "Ole-Close your eyes".
• Andersen paid very little attention to his appearance. He constantly walked the streets of Copenhagen in an old hat and worn raincoat. One day a dandy stopped him on the street and asked:
  “Tell me, is this pathetic thing on your head called a hat?”
  To which the immediate response was:
  "Is that pathetic thing under your fancy hat called a head?"

Be like children

There are few people in the world who do not know the name of the great writer Hans Christian Andersen. More than one generation has grown up on the works of this master of the pen, whose works have been translated into 150 languages ​​of the world. In almost every home, parents read bedtime stories to their children about the Princess and the Pea, Spruce, and little Thumbelina, whom a field mouse tried to marry off to a greedy mole neighbor. Or children watch films and cartoons about the Little Mermaid or about the girl Gerda, who dreamed of rescuing Kai from the cold hands of the callous Snow Queen.

The world described by Andersen is amazing and beautiful. But along with the magic and the flight of fantasy, there is a philosophical thought in his fairy tales, because the writer devoted his work to both children and adults. Many critics agree that under the shell of Andersen's naivete and simple style of narration lies a deep meaning, the task of which is to give the reader the necessary food for thought.

Childhood and youth

Hans Christian Andersen (generally accepted Russian spelling, Hans Christian would be more correct) was born on April 2, 1805 in the third largest city in Denmark, Odense. Some biographers assured that Andersen was the illegitimate son of the Danish king Christian VIII, but in fact the future writer grew up and was brought up in a poor family. His father, also named Hans, worked as a shoemaker and barely made ends meet, and his mother Anna Marie Andersdatter worked as a laundress and was an illiterate woman.

The head of the family believed that his ancestry began from a noble dynasty: the paternal grandmother told her grandson that their family belonged to a privileged social class, but these speculations were not confirmed and were challenged over time. There are many rumors about Andersen's relatives, which to this day excite the minds of readers. For example, they say that the grandfather of the writer - a carver by profession - was considered crazy in the town, because he made incomprehensible figures of people with wings, similar to angels, out of wood.

Hans Sr. introduced the child to literature. He read to his offspring "1001 nights" - traditional Arabic tales. Therefore, every evening, little Hans plunged into the magical stories of Scheherazade. Also, the father and son loved to take walks in the park in Odense and even visited the theater, which made an indelible impression on the boy. In 1816 the writer's father died.

The real world was a severe test for Hans, he grew up as an emotional, nervous and sensitive child. Andersen’s state of mind is to blame for the local bully, who simply distributes cuffs, and teachers, because in those troubled times, punishment with rods was commonplace, so the future writer considered school an unbearable torture.

When Andersen flatly refused to attend classes, the parents assigned the young man to a charity school for poor children. After receiving his primary education, Hans became an apprentice weaver, then retrained as a tailor, and later worked in a cigarette factory.

Andersen's relations with colleagues in the workshop, to put it mildly, did not work out. He was constantly embarrassed by vulgar anecdotes and narrow-minded jokes of workers, and one day, under the general laughter, Hans pulled down his pants to make sure he was a boy or a girl. And all because in childhood the writer had a thin voice and often sang during the shift. This event forced the future writer to completely withdraw into himself. The only friends of the young man were wooden dolls, once made by his father.

When Hans was 14 years old, in search of a better life, he moved to Copenhagen, which at that time was considered the "Scandinavian Paris". Anna Marie thought that Andersen would leave for the capital of Denmark for a short time, so she let her beloved son go with a light heart. Hans left his father's house because he dreamed of becoming famous, he wanted to learn acting and play on the stage of the theater in classical productions. It is worth saying that Hans was a lanky young man with a long nose and limbs, for which he received the offensive nicknames "stork" and "lamppost".

Andersen was also teased in childhood as a “playwriter”, because the boy’s house had a toy theater with rag “actors”. A diligent young man with a funny appearance gave the impression of an ugly duckling, who was accepted into the Royal Theater out of pity, and not because he was an excellent soprano. On the stage of the theater, Hans played minor roles. But soon his voice began to break, so classmates, who considered Andersen primarily a poet, advised the young man to concentrate on literature.

Jonas Collin, a Danish statesman who was in charge of finance during the reign of Frederick VI, was very fond of a young man unlike everyone else and convinced the king to pay for the education of a young writer.

Andersen studied at the prestigious schools of Slagelse and Elsinore (where he sat at the same desk with students who were 6 years younger than himself) at the expense of the treasury, although he was not a diligent student: Hans never mastered the letter and made multiple spelling and punctuation errors in writing all his life. Later, the storyteller recalled that he had nightmares about his student years, because the rector constantly criticized the young man to the nines, and, as you know, Andersen did not like this.

Literature

During his lifetime, Hans Christian Andersen wrote poetry, short stories, novels and ballads. But for all readers, his name is primarily associated with fairy tales - there are 156 works in the track record of the master of the pen. However, Hans disliked being called a children's writer and claimed to write for boys and girls as well as adults. It got to the point that Andersen ordered that there should not be a single child on his monument, although initially the monument was supposed to be surrounded by children.

Illustration for Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling"

Hans gained recognition and fame in 1829, when he published the adventure story "Hiking from the Holmen Canal to the Eastern End of Amager". Since then, the young writer did not leave his pen with an inkwell and wrote literary works one after another, including fairy tales that glorified him, into which he introduced a system of high genres. True, novels, short stories and vaudevilles were given to the author hard - at the moments of writing, he seemed to suffer a creative crisis in spite.

Illustration for Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "Wild Swans"

Andersen drew inspiration from everyday life. In his opinion, everything in this world is beautiful: a flower petal, a small bug, and a spool of thread. Indeed, if we recall the works of the creator, then even each galosh or pea from a pod has an amazing biography. Hans relied both on his own fantasy and on the motifs of the folk epic, thanks to which he wrote The Flint, The Wild Swans, The Swineherd and other stories published in the collection Tales Told to Children (1837).

Illustration for the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen "The Little Mermaid"

Andersen loved to make protagonists of characters who are looking for a place in society. This includes Thumbelina, the Little Mermaid, and the Ugly Duckling. Such characters make the author sympathetic. All Andersen's stories from cover to cover are saturated with philosophical meaning. It is worth recalling the fairy tale "The King's New Clothes", where the emperor asks two rogues to sew an expensive garment for him. However, the outfit turned out to be difficult and consisted entirely of "invisible threads". The crooks assured the customer that only fools would not see the extremely thin fabric. Thus, the king flaunts around the palace in an indecent form.

Illustration for the fairy tale "Thumbelina" by Hans Christian Andersen

He and his courtiers do not notice the intricate dress, but are afraid to make themselves look like fools if they admit that the ruler is walking around in what his mother gave birth to. This tale began to be interpreted as a parable, and the phrase "And the king is naked!" included in the list of winged expressions. It is noteworthy that not all Andersen’s fairy tales are saturated with luck, not all of the writer’s manuscripts contain the “deusexmachina” technique, when a random coincidence that saves the protagonist (for example, the prince kisses the poisoned Snow White) seems to appear out of nowhere by God’s will.

Illustration for the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea" by Hans Christian Andersen

Hans is loved by adult readers for not drawing a utopian world where everyone lives happily ever after, but, for example, without a twinge of conscience sends a steadfast tin soldier into a burning fireplace, dooming a lonely little man to death. In 1840, the master of the pen tried his hand at the genre of short stories and miniatures and published the collection "A Book with Pictures without Pictures", in 1849 he wrote the novel "Two Baronesses". Four years later, the book To Be or Not to Be was published, but all Andersen's attempts to establish himself as a novelist were in vain.

Personal life

The personal life of the failed actor, but the eminent writer Andersen is a mystery shrouded in darkness. Rumor has it that throughout the existence of the great writer remained in the dark about intimacy with women or men. There is an assumption that the great storyteller was a latent homosexual (as evidenced by the epistolary heritage), he had close friendly relations with friends Edward Collin, the Crown Duke of Weimar and with the dancer Harald Schraff. Although there were three women in the life of Hans, the matter did not go beyond fleeting sympathy, not to mention marriage.

The first chosen one of Andersen was the sister of a school friend Riborg Voigt. But the indecisive young man did not dare to talk to the object of his desire. Louise Collin - the writer's next potential bride - stopped any attempts at courtship and ignored the fiery stream of love letters. The 18-year-old girl preferred Andersen to a wealthy lawyer.

In 1846, Hans fell in love with the opera singer Jenny Lind, who was nicknamed "The Swedish Nightingale" because of her sonorous soprano voice. Andersen guarded Jenny backstage and presented the beauty with poems and generous gifts. But the charming girl was in no hurry to reciprocate the storyteller's sympathy, but treated him like a brother. When Andersen learned that the singer had married the British composer Otto Goldschmidt, Hans plunged into depression. Cold-hearted Jenny Lind became the prototype of the Snow Queen from the writer's fairy tale of the same name.

Illustration for Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen"

Andersen was unlucky in love. Therefore, it is not surprising that the storyteller, upon arrival in Paris, visited the red light districts. True, instead of debauchery all night long with frivolous young ladies, Hans talked with them, sharing the details of his unhappy life. When an acquaintance of Andersen hinted to him that he was visiting brothels for other purposes, the writer was surprised and looked at his interlocutor with obvious disgust.

It is also known that Andersen was a devoted admirer, talented writers met at a literary meeting held by the Countess of Blessington in her salon. After this meeting, Hans wrote in his diary:

"We went out on the veranda, I was happy to talk to the living writer of England, whom I love most."

After 10 years, the storyteller again arrived in England and came as an uninvited guest to Dickens' house to the detriment of his family. As time passed, Charles ceased correspondence with Andersen, and the Dane sincerely did not understand why all his letters remained unanswered.

Death

In the spring of 1872, Andersen fell out of bed, hitting the floor hard, because of which he received multiple injuries from which he never recovered.

Later, the writer was diagnosed with liver cancer. On August 4, 1875 Hans died. The great writer is buried in the Assistance Cemetery in Copenhagen.

Bibliography

• 1829 - "Traveling on foot from the Holmen Canal to the eastern cape of the island of Amager"
• 1829 - "Love on the Nikolaev Tower"
• 1834 - "Agneta and Vodyanoy"
• 1835 - "Improviser" (Russian translation - in 1844)
• 1837 - "Only a violinist"
• 1835-1837 - "Tales told for children"
• 1838 - "The Steadfast Tin Soldier"
• 1840 - "A picture book without pictures"
• 1843 - The Nightingale
• 1843 - "The Ugly Duckling"
• 1844 - "The Snow Queen"
• 1845 - "Girl with matches"
• 1847 - "Shadow"
• 1849 - "Two Baronesses"
• 1857 - "To be or not to be"

Hans Christian Andersen (in many publications in Russian the name of the writer is indicated as Hans Christian, Dan. Hans Christian Andersen; April 2, 1805, Odense, Danish-Norwegian Union - August 4, 1875, Copenhagen, Denmark) - Danish prose writer and poet, author of world-famous fairy tales for children and adults: "The Ugly Duckling", "The King's New Dress", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier ”,“ The Princess and the Pea ”,“ Ole Lukoye ”,“ The Snow Queen ”and many others.

Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805 in Odense on the island of Funen. Andersen's father, Hans Andersen (1782-1816), was a poor shoemaker, and his 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.

He grew up as a very subtly nervous child, emotional and receptive. At that time, physical punishment of children in schools was common, so the boy was afraid to go to school, and his mother sent him to a Jewish school, where physical punishment of children was prohibited.

At the age of 14, Hans went to Copenhagen; his mother let him go, because she hoped that he would stay there a little and come back. When she asked the reason why he was leaving her and the house, young Hans Christian immediately replied: "To become famous!"

Hans Christian was a lanky teenager with elongated and thin limbs, a neck and an equally long nose, and out of pity, Hans Christian, despite his ineffectual appearance, was accepted into the Royal Theater, where he played minor roles. 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. 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 never married and had no children.

In 1829, Andersen published a fantastic story "Hiking from the Holmen canal to the eastern tip of Amager" brought fame to the writer. Andersen writes a large number of literary works, including in 1835 - "Tales" that glorified him. In the 1840s, Andersen tried to return to the stage, but without much success. At the same time, he confirmed his talent by publishing the collection "A Picture Book without Pictures".

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.

In 1872, Andersen fell out of bed, badly hurt himself and never recovered from his injuries, although he lived for another three years. He died on 4 August 1875 and is buried in the Assistance Cemetery in Copenhagen.

List of the most famous fairy tales:

Storks (Storkene, 1839)
Thumbelina, Wilhelm Pedersen, 1820-1859.
Godfather's Album (1868)
Angel (Engelen, 1843)
Anne Lisbeth (1859)
Grandmother (Bedstemoder, 1845)
Bloch and the Professor (Loppen og Professoren, 1872)
Will-o'-the-wisps in the city (Lygtemændene ere i Byen, sagde Mosekonen, 1865)
God Never Dies (Den gamle Gud lever endnu, 1836)
Great sea serpent (Den store Søslange, 1871)
Bronze boar (reality) (Metalsvinet, 1842)
Elder Mother (Hyldemoer, 1844)
Bottleneck (Flaskehalsen, 1857)
On the day of death (Paa den yderste Dag, 1852)
In the Nursery (I Børnestuen, 1865)
Cheerful disposition (Et godt Humeur, 1852)
The wind tells about Valdemar Do and his daughters (Vinden fortæller om Valdemar Daae og hans Døttre, 1859)
Windmill (Veirmøllen, 1865)
Magic Hill (Elverhøi, 1845)
Collar (Flipperne, 1847)
Everybody know your place! (Everything has its place) ("Alt paa sin rette Plads", 1852)
Van and Glen (Vænø og Glænø, 1867)
The ugly duckling (Den grimme Ælling, 1843)
Hans Chump (or Fool Hans) (Klods-Hans, 1855)
Buckwheat (Boghveden, 1841)
Two Brothers (To Brødre, 1859)
Two Maidens (To Jomfruer, 1853)
Twelve Passengers (Tolv med Posten, 1861)
Yard cock and weather vane (Gaardhanen og Veirhanen, 1859)
Ice Maiden (Iisjomfruen, 1861)
The Little Match Girl (Den lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne, 1845)
The girl who stepped on the bread (The girl who stepped on the bread) (Pigen, som traadte paa Brødet, 1859)
Moving Day (Flyttedagen, 1860)
Wild swans (De vilde Svaner, 1838)
Director of the puppet theater (Marionetspilleren, 1851)
Days of the Week (Ugedagene, 1868)
Brownie and hostess (Nissen og Madamen, 1867)
Small trader brownie (Nissen hos Spekhøkeren, 1852)
Roadmate (Reisekammeraten, 1835)
Marsh King's Daughter (Dynd-Kongens Datter, 1858)
Dryad (Dryaden, 1868)
Thumbelina (Tommelise, 1835)
Jewess (Jødepigen, 1855)
Spruce (Grantræet, 1844)
Bishop of Berglum and his Relatives (Bispen paa Børglum og hans Frænde, 1861)
There is a difference! ("Der Forskjel!", 1851)
Toad (Skrubtudsen, 1866)
Bride and Groom (Kjærestefolkene or Toppen og Bolden, 1843)
Green crumbs (De smaa Grønne, 1867)
Evil prince. Tradition (Den onde Fyrste, 1840)
Golden Boy (Guldskat, 1865)
And sometimes happiness is hidden in a pinch (Lykken kan ligge i en Pind, 1869)
Ib and Christine (Ib og lille Christine, 1855)
From the Window of the Almshouse (Fra et Vindue i Vartou, 1846)
The True Truth (Det er ganske vist!, 1852)
History of the Year (Aarets Historie, 1852)
The Story of a Mother (Historien om en Moder, 1847)
How the Storm Outweighed the Signs (Stormen flytter Skilt, 1865)
How good! ("Deilig!", 1859)
Galoshes of happiness (Lykkens Kalosker, 1838)
Drop of Water (Vanddraaben, 1847)
Gate Key (Portnøglen, 1872)
Something (Noget, 1858)
Bell (Klokken, 1845)
Bell Pool (Klokkedybet, 1856)
Ole's bell watchman (Taarnvægteren Ole, 1859)
Comet (Kometen, 1869)
Red Shoes (De røde Skoe, 1845)
Who is the happiest? (Hvem var den Lykkeligste?, 1868)
Swan's Nest (Svanereden, 1852)
Flax (Hørren, 1848)
Little Claus and Big Claus (Lille Claus og store Claus, 1835)
Little Took (Lille Tuk, 1847)
Moth (Sommerfuglen, 1860)
The Muse of the New Age (Det nye Aarhundredes Musa, 1861)
On the Dunes (En Historie fra Klitterne, 1859)
At the Edge of the Sea (Ved det yderste Hav, 1854)
On a Child's Grave (Barnet i Graven, 1859)
In the poultry yard (I Andegaarden, 1861)
Dung beetle (Skarnbassen, 1861)
The Silent Book (Den stumme Bog, 1851)
Bad Boy (Den uartige Dreng, 1835)
The King's New Dress (Keiserens nye Klæder, 1837)
Old Bachelor's Nightcap (Pebersvendens Nathue, 1858)
What the old woman Johanna told about (Hvad gamle Johanne fortalte, 1872)
Fragment of a string of pearls (Et stykke Perlesnor, 1856)
Steel (Fyrtøiet, 1835)
Ole Lukøie (1841)
Offspring of a paradise plant (Et Blad fra Himlen, 1853)
Couple (Kærestefolkene, 1843)
Shepherdess and Chimney Sweep (Hyrdinden og Skorsteensfeieren, 1845)
Peiter, Peter and Per (Peiter, Peter og Peer, 1868)
Pen and Inkwell (Pen og Blækhuus, 1859)
Dance, doll, dance! (Dandse, dandse Dukke min! 1871)
Twin Cities (Venskabs-Pagten, 1842)
Under the Willow (Under Piletræet, 1852)
Snowdrop (Sommergjækken, 1862)
The Last Dream of the Old Oak (Det gamle Egetræes sidste Drøm, 1858)
The Last Pearl (Den sidste Perle, 1853)
Great-grandfather (Oldefa "er, 1870)
The Ancestors of Greta the Poultrymaker (Hønse-Grethes Familie, 1869)
The most beautiful rose in the world (Verdens deiligste Rose, 1851)
The Princess and the Pea (Prindsessen paa Ærten, 1835)
Lost ("Hun duede ikke", 1852)
Jumpers (Springfyrene, 1845)
Psyche (Psychen, 1861)
Folk Song Bird (Folkesangens Fugl, 1864)
Phoenix bird (Fugl Phønix, 1850)
Five from One Pod (Fem fra en Ærtebælg, 1852)
Garden of Eden (Paradisets Have, 1839)
Sunbeam Tales (Solskins-Historier, 1869)
Childish Chatter (Børnesnak, 1859)
Rose from Homer's Grave (En Rose fra Homers Grav, 1842)
Chamomile (Gaaseurten, 1838)
The Little Mermaid (Den lille Havfrue, 1837)
From the ramparts (Et Billede fra Castelsvolden, 1846)
The Gardener and the Gentlemen (Gartneren og Herskabet, 1872)
Tallow candle (Tællelyset, 1820s)
The Most Incredible (Det Utroligste, 1870)
Candles (Lysene, 1870)
Swineherd (Svinedrengen, 1841)
Piggy bank pig (Pengegrisen, 1854)
Heartbreak (Hjertesorg, 1852)
Silver coin (Sølvskillingen, 1861)
Seat (Krøblingen, 1872)
Walkers (Hurtigløberne, 1858)
Snowman (Sneemanden, 1861)
The Snow Queen (Sneedronningen, 1844)
Hidden - Not Forgotten (Gjemt er ikke glemt, 1866)
Nightingale (Nattergalen, 1843)
Sleep (En Historie, 1851)
Neighbors (Nabofamilierne, 1847)
Old gravestone (Den gamle Gravsteen, 1852)
The Old House (Det gamle Huus, 1847)
Old street lamp (Den gamle Gadeløgte, 1847)
Old church bell (Den gamle Kirkeklokke, 1861)
Steadfast Tin Soldier (Den standhaftige Tinsoldat, 1838)
The fate of the burdock (Hvad Tidselen oplevede, 1869)
Flying chest (Den flyvende Kuffert, 1839)
Sausage stick soup (Suppe paa en Pølsepind, 1858)
The Happy Family (Den lykkelige Familie, 1847)
The Gatekeeper's Son (Portnerens Søn, 1866)
Talisman (Talismanen, 1836)
Shadow (Skyggen, 1847)
The thorny path of glory ("Ærens Tornevei", 1855)
Auntie (Moster, 1866)
Aunt Toothache (Tante Tandpine, 1872)
Rags (Laserne, 1868)
What the hubby does is fine (Whatever the hubby does, everything is fine) (Hvad Fatter gjør, det er altid det Rigtige, 1861)
Snail and Roses (Snail and Rosebush) (Sneglen og Rosenhækken, 1861)
Philosopher's Stone (De Vises Steen, 1858)
Holger Danske (1845)
Flowers of little Ida (Den lille Idas Blomster, 1835)
Kettle (Theepotten, 1863)
What They Can't Think Up… (What You Can Think Up) (Hvad man kan hitte paa, 1869)
In a thousand years (Om Aartusinder, 1852)
What the Whole Family Said (Hvad hele Familien sagde, 1870)
Darning needle (Stoppenaalen, 1845)
Rose bush elf (Rosen-Alfen, 1839).