Fairy Tales Hans Christian Anderson; Translated by Reginald Spink; Illustrated by W. Heath Robinson

by Andersen, Hans Christian; Spink, Reginald; Robinson, W. Heath

• ISBN13: 9780679417910
• ISBN10: 0679417915
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1992-11-03
• Publisher: Everyman's Library

Summary

"The Princess and the Pea, " "The Little Mermaid, " and other great Andersen fairy tales have enchanted children since the first ones appeared in Danish in the 1830s and '40s. Spink's translation into English is widely recognized as the finest, and the new Everyman's Library edition is further graced by the magical pictures made in 1899 by three of Britain's most celebrated illustrators.

Author Biography

Hans Christian Andersen (1805—75) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker, who nonetheless was a great reader, made a toy-theatre for his son and taught him to notice every natural wonder as they walked in the woods together on Sundays. His father died when he was eleven, and it wasn't until six years later that, with the help of a patron, he finally went to a state secondary school attended by much youger children. There he suffered at the hands of a cruel headmaster, but he aquired an education and was determined to be a writer. He published his first novel and his first fairy tales in 1835; thereafter he wrote over 150 more of these stories which have become classics in many languages.

A lonely man who never married, he was also an anxious man; he loved travelling, but would carry a coil of rope with him in case of fire in his hotel. Although he originally addressed his fairy tales to children (and some would maintain he had a streak of childhood in his nature) he insisted they were 'for all ages', and the gentleness and humor that are their characteristics are recognized by everyone.

Table of Contents

The Tinder-Box	1	(8)
Little Claus and Big Claus	9	(14)
The Princess and the Pea	23	(3)
Little Ida's Flowers	26	(9)
Thumbelina	35	(15)
The Naughty Boy	50	(3)
The Travelling Companion	53	(22)
The Little Mermaid	75	(28)
The Emperor's New Clothes	103	(7)
The Steadfast Tin Soldier	110	(6)
The Wild Swans	116	(21)
The Flying Trunk	137	(9)
The Stroks	146	(8)
Little Shuteye	154	(13)
The Rose Elf	167	(6)
The Swineherd	173	(8)
The Buckwheat	181	(2)
The Nightingale	183	(15)
Sweethearts (The Top and the Ball)	198	(3)
The Ugly Duckling	201	(14)
The Fir-Tree	215	(10)
The Snow Queen	225	(44)
The Darning-Needle	269	(4)
The Bell	273	(6)
The Red Shoes	279	(9)
The High Jumpers	288	(4)
The Shepherdess and the Chimney-Sweep	292	(7)
The Little Match Girl	299	(3)
The Shadow	302	(14)
The Old House	316	(9)
The Drop of Water	325	(2)
The Happy Family	327	(4)
The Story of a Mother	331	(6)
The Collar	337	(3)
It's Perfectly True	340	(3)
The Goblin at the Grocer's	343	(5)
Thousands of Years From Now	348	(3)
The Pig Bank	351	(3)
Clod-Poll	354	(5)
The Bottle Neck	359	(11)
Pen and Ink-Pot	370	(3)
The Farmyard Cock and the Weathercock	373	(3)
The Dung-Beetle	376	(9)
Pa Always Does the Right Thing	385	(6)
The Snowman	391	(6)
The Butterfly	397	(3)
The Snail and the Rose-Bush	400	(3)
The Silver Penny	403	(5)
The Teapot	408	(2)
Hitting on an Idea	410	(4)
The Flea and the Professor	414