Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen

The Black Classics edition of our glorious new translation and selection of 30 tales to mark the 200 year anniversary of Andersen’s birth in 2005

With this new translation and selection, the unique inventiveness of Andersen’s genius is revealed. At a time when children’s stories were formal, moral and didactic, Hans Christian Andersen revolutionized the genre, giving an anarchic twist to traditional folklore and creating a huge number of utterly original stories that sprang directly from his imagination. From the exuberant early stories such as The Emperor’s New Clothes, through poignant masterpieces such as The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling, to the darker, more subversive later tales written for adults, the stories included here are endlessly experimental, both humorous and irreverent, sorrowful and strange.

Reviews

‘Truly scrumptious, a proper treasury … Read on with eyes as big as teacups’
Guardian

‘This translation gives me, for the first time, a real sense of the range and variety of Andersen’s style’
A.S. Byatt

‘There have been some capable versions in English, but Tiina Nunnally’s seems to me the best. Jackie Wullschlager’s introduction will be of enormous value’
Harold Bloom

About the author

Hans Christian Andersen (April 2, 1805 – August 4, 1875) was a Danish author and poet, most famous for his fairy tales. Among his best-known stories are The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Little Match Girl, The Ugly Duckling and The Red Shoes. During Andersen’s lifetime he was feted by royalty and acclaimed for having brought joy to children across Europe. His fairy tales have been translated into over 150 languages and continue to be published in millions of copies all over the world and inspired many other works.