He tried acting but, unable even to spell, he was a complete failure. She wanted him to be a tailor, but instead he went off as a boy of 14 “to become a famous actor in Copenhagen.
His own fate should have been to become a street-urchin, as she had been. Hans wrote about her sad life with great frankness in his fairy tale, She was Good for Nothing. She became an alcoholic and died in the Odense workhouse in 1833. He then got a job in a mill, while his illiterate mother worked as a washerwoman. His father, who worked as a cobbler in the one room where they lived, died insane when Hans was 11. He was born into squalid poverty in the port of Odense on 2 April 1805.
In 19th century Europe his books ranked second in sales after the Bible. For a long time his renown was greater than that of any other Scandinavian writer. Hans Andersen was not the first fairy tale teller, but he was by far the most famous. As a rich celebrity he was able to say, “Twenty-five years ago today I arrived with my small parcel in Copenhagen, a poor boy, and today I drank chocolate with the King and Queen.” Though not quite so beautiful as he pretended, his life was indeed a fairy tale. “My life is a beautiful fairy tale.” These are the opening words of his autobiography. He was convinced that future generations would honour the name of Hans Christian Andersen. He was shy, sickly, ugly and had no education. Once upon a time a poor boy of 14 left his home in a Danish seaport slum to seek fame and fortune in the country’s capital.
Yet his 156 fairy tales probably gave more pleasure, especially to children, than the works of any other writer. Hans was born into squalid poverty over 200 years ago, his father died insane and his mother ended her days as an alcoholic in a workhouse. Home > Latest > The Hans Andersen fairy tale The Hans Andersen fairy tale
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