He told tales
Hans Christian Andersen
"In 1805, in the town of Odense (on the island of Fionia, Denmark), a young couple lived in a poor closet - husband and wife, who loved each other endlessly: a young shoemaker of twenty, a richly gifted poetic nature, and his wife, several years older, who did not know anything life, no light, but with a rare heart. Only recently released as a master, my husband with his own hands knocked together the entire furnishings of the shoemaker's workshop and even the bed. On this bed on April 2, 1805, a small, screaming lump appeared - I, Hans-Christian Andersen. I I grew up as an only and therefore spoiled child; often I had to hear from my mother how happy I am, because I live much better than she lived in her childhood: well, just a real count's son! small, they were driven out of the house to beg for alms. She could not make up her mind and spent whole days sitting under the bridge, by the river. Listening to her stories about this, I burst into burning tears. " (G.-K. Andersen "The Tale of My Life". 1855, translated by A. Ganzen)
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, mother Anna Marie Andersdatter (1775-1833), was a laundress from a poor family, she had to beg in 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 writer was sure that his father was King Christian the Eighth, who, being a prince, allowed himself numerous novels.
From a relationship with a noble girl, Eliza Ahlefeld-Laurvig, a boy was allegedly born, who was given to the family of a shoemaker and a laundress. During a trip to Rome, the Danish princess Charlotte-Frederika did tell Andersen that he was the king's illegitimate son. Apparently, she just laughed at the poor dreamer. However, when a penniless writer unexpectedly received an annual royal stipend at the age of 33, he was even more convinced that "his father does not forget him."
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 1816, Andersen's father died, and the boy had to work for a living. 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. Andersen was fond of puppet theater later.
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. Hence Andersen's forever preserved connection with the Jewish people and knowledge of its traditions and culture; he wrote several fairy tales and short stories on Jewish themes.
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!" He went to get a job in the theater, motivating this with his love for everything connected with him. He received money from 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 teenager, promised to arrange everything, but did not fulfill her promise. Later, she told 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. But thanks to his pleasant voice and his requests, as well as out of pity, Hans Christian, despite his unspectacular appearance, was admitted to the Royal Theater, where he played secondary roles. He was less and less involved, and then the age-related breakdown of his voice began, and he was fired. Hans Christian, meanwhile, composed a play in five acts and wrote a letter to the king, urging 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.
Sympathizing with 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.
Little is known about Andersen's personal life. Throughout his life, the writer never got a family. But often he was in love with "inaccessible beauties", and these novels were in the public domain.
“I am still innocent, but my blood burns,” Andersen wrote at 29. It seems that Hans Christian did not bother to extinguish this fire.
He promised to marry his first girlfriend when he started earning fifteen hundred riksdaler a year. At 35, his annual income was already higher, but he never married. Although by the end of his life his fortune had grown to half a million dollars (by today's standards), and an apartment in Copenhagen cost no less than 300 thousand.
All Andersen's "great loves" remained platonic. For two years he went to Sweden to the singer Jenny Lindt (she was nicknamed the nightingale for her beautiful voice), showered her with flowers and poems. 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 40, and she was only 26 years old. In 1852, Lind married the young pianist Otto Holschmidt. 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.
The second half of Andersen's life was accompanied by young friends on his travels, but there is no open evidence of the close relationship of friends.
In 1829, Andersen published a fantastic story "Hiking from the Holmen canal to the eastern tip of Amager" brought fame to the writer. Little was written before 1833, when Andersen received a cash allowance from the king, which allowed him to make his first trip abroad. Since that time, Andersen has written a large number of literary works.
Since 1835, Hans Christian Andersen began to periodically publish fairy tales, which in 1841 will be included in the book "The Tale That Was Told to Children." Andersen's early fairy tales are, as a rule, a literary reworking of folk tales that he himself heard in childhood ("The Tinderbox", "Little Klaus and Big Klaus", "The Princess on the Pea", "Wild Swans", "Swineherd", but etc.). The plot of "The King's New Clothes" was borrowed from a Spanish source. But "Thumbelina", "The Little Mermaid", "Galosha of Happiness", "Chamomile", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "Ole Lukoye", although somewhat related to folklore, are still author's works. Against the backdrop of numerous storytellers who were born by the era of romanticism in different countries, Andersen's tales are distinguished by the lack of a didactic basis and, as it seemed to the critics of the 19th century, the lack of proper honor for the royal persons who in Andersen's tale walk around the palace in pantofle (after all, the palace is their home) , make a bed and cook buckwheat porridge.
Despite mixed reviews from critics, Andersen's fairy tales are becoming very popular and bring fame to the author throughout Europe. Stories about the ugly duckling, the Snow Queen, the swineherd, the tin soldier won the hearts of not only children, but also adults.
The 19th century can be called the era of the revival of folklore. At this time, philologists carefully studied folk traditions and legends, many went to the villages and wrote down fairy tales from the words of the peasants. The Brothers Grimm in Germany, Alexander Afanasiev in Russia, Elias Lönnort in Finland compiled the most complete collections of folk tales and published national epic works.
Hans Christian Andersen was one of the first authors in Europe to write his magical stories. It is no coincidence that literary critics call him the founder of a literary fairy tale. The writer also for the first time made the heroes of fairy tales not fictional characters, but ordinary people, the action in his works takes place not in the Far Far Away kingdom, but in an ordinary city in which any of us could live, and finally, Andersen's fairy tales do not always end happily for the heroes.
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".
The fame of his Tales grew; The 2nd issue of "Tales" was started in 1838, and the 3rd - in 1845. By this time he was already a famous writer, widely known in Europe. In June 1847, he first came to England and was honored with a triumphant welcome.
Once the writer was walking down the street of Copenhagen in the Old Port area. As he passed one of the windows, the woman said to her son, “Here comes Mr. Andersen. To his lullaby, you fall asleep so well.”
The boy looked at a tall and thin man in a black suit, somewhat reminiscent of a foreigner, took his only soldier, ran out into the street, gave it to a stranger and ran away ...
When some dandy in Copenhagen, seeing an old, worn hat on the head of the writer, exclaimed: “And what, this pathetic thing on your head is called a hat ?!” - he immediately replied: "And this pathetic thing under your hat is called a head?"
The monument to Andersen was erected during his lifetime, he himself approved the project of the architect Auguste Sabo. Initially, according to the project, he was sitting in a chair, surrounded by children, and Andersen was outraged by this. "I couldn't say a word in such an atmosphere," he said. Now, on the square in Copenhagen, named after him, there is a monument: a storyteller in an armchair with a book in his hand - and alone.
Andersen was sure that if he lost all his teeth, he would stop writing. Indeed, the writer no longer picked up a pen after his last tooth fell out.
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 August 4, 1875 at the age of seventy and was buried in the Assistance Cemetery in Copenhagen.
Andersen wrote his last fairy tale in 1872 at Christmas. The writer died on August 4, 1875. According to eyewitnesses, all of Denmark gathered to say goodbye to the storyteller. Friends joked: "If Hans Christian had seen his funeral, he would have been very pleased."
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.
In this we have collected the most interesting facts from the life of the great storyteller.
So in front of you short biography of Hans Andersen.
Biography of 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.
Childhood and youth
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 of Denmark 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.
Andersen's creative biography
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.
Andersen's works
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.
Personal life
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.
Death
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.
Andersen's photo
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.
Andersen is one of the most famous writers of fairy tales. A short biography for schoolchildren of this author should include the main stages of his life, the main milestones of creativity, and most importantly, the features of literary activity. In this regard, it is also necessary to mention his main works, and also to show that he wrote not only fairy tales, but tried himself in different genres, while studying in the theater and writing travel notes. This man was a very versatile and versatile personality, while the general public knows him, as a rule, only as the author of fairy tales. However, a brief biography of Andersen should also include a mention of other areas of his interests and activities.
Childhood
He was born in 1805 on the island of Funen. He came from a poor family: his father was a carpenter and shoemaker, and his mother was a laundress. The future writer already then had problems with getting an education: he was afraid of corporal punishment, and therefore his mother sent him to a Jewish school, where they were forbidden. However, he learned to read and write only by the age of ten and wrote with errors until the end of his life.
At school lessons, it is very important to emphasize how difficult Andersen went through the labor school of life. A biography for children must be briefly summarized, taking into account several facts of this kind, namely, that he was an apprentice in two factories, and these severe ones left a strong imprint on his worldview.
Adolescence
His father and grandfather had a great influence on him. He himself wrote in his autobiography that his interest in theater and writing arose in childhood, when he listened to the stories of his grandfather and, together with his father, arranged improvised home performances. In addition, the boy remembered his grandfather for carving funny toys from wood, and the future storyteller himself made clothes and costumes, arranging real scenes at home. A visit to the Copenhagen troupe had a great influence on him, where he once even played one small role. So he realized that he wanted to be a writer and artist. A brief biography of Andersen is also interesting in that he himself, at a very young age, decided that he wanted to be famous and, having saved some money, went to Copenhagen.
Study and theater experience
In the capital, he tried to become an actor, but he never managed to master this art. But here he received a good education. At the request of influential acquaintances, he studied in two cities of the country, learned several languages and passed the exams for the degree of candidate. Seeing in the young man a great desire to become an actor, the theater director gave him small roles, but very soon he was told that he would never be able to play professionally on stage. However, by that time his talent as a writer, playwright and writer had already manifested itself.
First works
A very short biography of Andersen should also include his most famous works (in addition to his fairy tales, which everyone probably knows about, even those who have not read them). It is significant that his first literary experience was not fairy tales, but plays written in the genre of tragedies. Here success awaited him: they were published, and the writer received his first fee. Encouraged by his success, he continued to write in the genres of large-scale prose, miniature novels, plays, and notes. A brief biography of Andersen, the most important content of which, of course, is the stage associated with writing fairy tales, should also take into account other aspects of the activity of this author.
Travel and dating
Despite the constraint on funds, the writer still had the opportunity to travel around Europe. Having received small monetary rewards for his literary works, he visited various countries of Europe, where he made many interesting acquaintances. So, he met the famous French writers V. Hugo and A. Dumas. In Germany, he was introduced to the German poet Heine. The interesting facts of his life include the fact that he had Pushkin's autograph. These travels were of great importance for the further development of his work, because thanks to them he mastered a new genre of travel notes.
The heyday of creativity
A brief biography of Andersen, which is studied by schoolchildren, should include, first of all, the life stage of the writer, which is associated with writing fairy tales that have gained popularity not only in his homeland, but throughout the world. The beginning of their creation dates back to the second half of the 1830s, when the author began to publish his first collections. They immediately gained fame, although many criticized the author for being illiterate, too free in this genre. Nevertheless, it was this genre that glorified the writer. A feature of his fairy tales is a combination of reality and fantasy, humor, satire and elements of drama. It is indicative that the writer himself did not consider that he was writing for children, and even insisted that there should not be a single figure of a child around his sculptural image. The secret of the success of the popularity of the author's fairy tales lies in the fact that he created a new type of writing, where inanimate objects, as well as plants, birds and animals, became full-fledged characters.
Mature stage of creativity
A brief biography of Andersen should also indicate his other achievements in the field of fiction. So, he wrote in the genre of large-scale prose (the novel The Improviser brought him European fame). He wrote miniature novels. The completion of his long and fruitful career was the writing of his autobiography entitled "The Tale of My Life". It is interesting because it reveals the character of this difficult person. The fact is that the writer was a closed and very receptive person. He was not married and had no children. The impressions of youth, a difficult childhood left an indelible imprint on him: he remained an extremely sensitive person for the rest of his life. The author died in Copenhagen in 1875.
The value of his work can hardly be overestimated. It's hard to find another popular school writer like Andersen. Biography for children is briefly one of the important topics in school classes: after all, he became perhaps the most famous storyteller in the whole world. Interest in his work continues to this day. So, in 2012, a manuscript of a previously unknown fairy tale by the writer “The Wax Candle” was found on the island of Funen.
Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805 in the city of Odense on the island of Funen (Denmark).
Andersen's father was a shoemaker and, according to Andersen himself, "a richly gifted poetic nature." He instilled in the future writer a love of books: in the evenings he read aloud the Bible, historical novels, short stories and short stories. For Hans Christian, his father built a home puppet theater, and his son composed plays himself. Unfortunately, the shoemaker Andersen did not live long and died, leaving his wife, little son and daughter.
Andersen's mother came from a poor family. In his autobiography, the storyteller recalled his mother's stories about how, as a child, she was kicked out of the house to beg... After the death of her husband, Andersen's mother began to work as a laundress.
Andersen received his primary education at a school for the poor. Only the Law of God, writing and arithmetic were taught there. Andersen studied poorly, almost did not prepare lessons. With much greater pleasure, he told his friends fictional stories, the hero of which was himself. Of course, no one believed these stories.
The first work of Hans Christian was the play "Karas and Elvira", written under the influence of Shakespeare and other playwrights. The storyteller got access to these books in the family of neighbors.
1815 - Andersen's first literary work. The result most often was the ridicule of peers, from which the impressionable author only suffered. The mother almost gave her son as an apprentice to a tailor in order to stop bullying and take him to the real thing. Fortunately, Hans Christian begged to send him to study in Copenhagen.
1819 - Andersen leaves for Copenhagen, intending to become an actor. In the capital, he gets a job at the royal ballet as a student dancer. Andersen did not become an actor, but the theater became interested in his dramatic and poetic experiments. Hans Christian was allowed to stay, study at a Latin school and receive a scholarship.
1826 - several poems by Andersen ("The Dying Child", etc.)
1828 - Andersen enters the university. In the same year, his first book "Traveling on foot from the Galmen Canal to Amagera Island" was published.
The attitude towards the newly-minted writer of society and criticism is ambiguous. Andersen becomes famous, but is laughed at for spelling mistakes. It is already being read abroad, but it is difficult to digest the special style of the writer, considering him vain.
1829 - Andersen lives in poverty, he is fed exclusively by fees.
1830 - the play "Love on the Nikolaev Tower" was written. The production took place on the stage of the Royal Theater in Copenhagen.
1831 - Andersen's novel "Travel Shadows" is published.
1833 Hans Christian receives a Royal Scholarship. He sets off on a journey through Europe, actively engaging in literary work along the way. On the road, the following were written: the poem "Agneta and the Sailor", the fairy tale-story "Ice"; In Italy, the novel "The Improviser" was begun. Having written and published The Improviser, Andersen becomes one of the most popular writers in Europe.
1834 Andersen returns to Denmark.
1835 - 1837 - "Tales told for children" were published. It was a three-volume collection, which included "The Flint", "The Little Mermaid", "The Princess and the Pea", etc. Again the attacks of criticism: Andersen's fairy tales were declared insufficiently instructive for educating children and too frivolous for adults. Nevertheless, until 1872 Andersen published 24 collections of fairy tales. Regarding criticism, Andersen wrote to his friend Charles Dickens: "Denmark is as rotten as the rotten islands on which it grew up!".
1837 - G. H. Andersen's novel "Only a Violinist" is published. A year later, in 1838, The Steadfast Tin Soldier was written.
1840s - a number of fairy tales and short stories were written, which Andersen published in the collections "Fairy Tales" with the message that the works are addressed to both children and adults: "A Book of Pictures without Pictures", "Swineherd", "Nightingale", "Ugly Duckling" , "The Snow Queen", "Thumbelina", "The Match Girl", "Shadow", "Mother", etc. The peculiarity of Hans Christian's fairy tales is that he was the first to turn to stories from the life of ordinary heroes, and not elves, princes, trolls, queens ... As for the traditional and obligatory happy ending for the fairy tale genre, Andersen parted ways with him back in The Little Mermaid. In his tales, according to the author's own statement, he "did not address children." The same period - Andersen still becomes known as a playwright. Theaters put on his plays "Mulatto", "Firstborn", "Dreams of the King", "More expensive than pearls and gold." The author watched his own works from the auditorium, from the seats for the common public. 1842 - Andersen travels to Italy. He writes and publishes a collection of travel essays "The Poet's Bazaar", which became a harbinger of his autobiography. 1846 - 1875 - for almost thirty years Andersen wrote the autobiographical story "The Tale of My Life". This work became the only source of information about the childhood of the famous storyteller. 1848 - the poem "Agasfer" was written and published. 1849 - publication of the novel by G. H. Andersen "Two Baronesses". 1853 Andersen writes To Be or Not to Be. 1855 - the writer's journey to Sweden, after which the novel "In Sweden" was written. Interestingly, in the novel, Andersen highlights the development of new technologies for that time, demonstrating good knowledge of them. Little is known about Andersen's personal life. Throughout his life, the writer never got a family. But often he was in love with "inaccessible beauties", and these novels were in the public domain. One of these beauties was the singer and actress Ieni Lind. Their romance was beautiful, but ended in a break - one of the lovers considered their business more important than family. 1872 - Andersen first experiences an attack of an illness from which he was no longer destined to recover. August 1, 1875 - Andersen dies in Copenhagen, in his villa "Rolighead"
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 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.
