41 h 56 minAudiobook10 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 41 h 56 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A mermaid gives up her voice, a toy soldier stands firm, and a vain emperor trusts the wrong people.
In Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, longing and danger reach from the sea king's coral palace to an emperor's wardrobe. The Little Mermaid hopes to win a prince and a soul. In The Emperor's New Clothes, a ruler's love of clothes leaves him open to two swindlers and their extraordinary promise.
The Snow Queen follows Gerda as she sets out alone across the north to find Kay, whose heart turns cold. The Ugly Duckling searches for a home, while The Steadfast Tin Soldier faces danger. Andersen gives the small and overlooked a voice, telling their stories with jokes, warmth and sudden sadness.
What you’ll discover
- Longing beneath the sea Enter the Little Mermaid's world, where curiosity about human life leads to a painful choice.
- Pride inside the palace Watch vanity meet deception as an emperor puts his faith in cloth no fool can see.
- Love against the cold Follow Gerda's brave search for Kay through a tale of friendship and a cruel mirror.
- Lives easily overlooked Meet Thumbelina, the duckling and the tin soldier, each facing a world with little room for them.
- Ordinary things that feel Discover teapots, toys, flowers and needles whose thoughts and feelings give small things large meanings.
Who will love it
For anyone who knows these tales from films or picture books and wants to discover the originals, and for parents who read aloud. For readers who love magic, talking toys, brave journeys and stories that mingle jokes with sudden sadness.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Early tales borrow from the folk tradition
- The Little Mermaid pays for her longing
- Vanity and truth meet at court
- The small and the cast out get a voice
- The Snow Queen follows love through the cold
- What the tales are really about, and how they are told
Who’s who
- The Little MermaidThe youngest daughter of the sea king, curious about the human world, who gives up her voice in the hope of winning a prince and a soul.
- The PrinceA young man saved from a shipwreck in The Little Mermaid, who never knows who truly rescued him.
- GerdaA brave, warm girl in The Snow Queen who sets out alone across the north to find her friend Kay.
- KayGerda's friend, whose heart and eye are pierced by splinters of a troll's mirror, so that he turns cold and mocking.
- The Ugly DucklingA large gray chick, mocked on a farm, who flees and wanders through a hard year in search of a home.
- The Steadfast Tin SoldierA one-legged toy soldier who loves a paper dancer and stands firm through every danger on his path.
- ThumbelinaA girl no bigger than a thumb, born from a flower, who is carried from one unwanted home to another.
- The EmperorA ruler so fond of clothes that he is easily fooled by two swindlers who promise him cloth no fool can see.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 41 h 56 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 10 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Cuentos de hadas de Hans Christian Andersen
A mermaid gives up her voice, a tin soldier faces danger, and Gerda crosses the north to find her friend.
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In short
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish writer, born in Odense as the son of a poor shoemaker. In 1835 he began to publish small books of tales, the first of them called Fairy Tales Told for Children, and he went on adding new ones for almost forty years.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Early tales borrow from the folk tradition
Andersen's first tales sit close to the stories told in Danish farmhouses. The Tinderbox begins with a soldier walking home from the wars. On the road he meets a witch who offers him all the money he can carry, if he will climb down into a hollow tree and fetch an old tinderbox. Below, three dogs guard three chests, one of copper, one of silver and one of gold. Their eyes grow larger as the treasure grows richer, and the biggest dog has eyes as round as a tower.
The soldier is no saint. He is quick, greedy and not much troubled by rules, and he soon discovers that the tinderbox is worth far more than the coins. Andersen tells all this in a light, almost cheeky tone. He cares about the soldier's luck and his appetites, and he makes fun of kings and queens who rely on fortune tellers and fear anyone from below their rank.
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What are Hans Christian Andersen's most famous fairy tales?
The best known include The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Snow Queen, The Princess and the Pea, Thumbelina, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Little Match Girl.
Are Andersen's fairy tales folk tales?
Only some are. Tales such as The Tinderbox and Thumbelina draw on folk motifs, but many, including The Little Mermaid and The Snow Queen, are Andersen's own inventions, which was unusual for fairy tales then.
Are Andersen's fairy tales for children or adults?
Both. The first books were called tales for children, but Andersen wrote with adult readers in mind too. Children enjoy the adventure and magic, while adults notice the satire and sadness.
The author
Hans Christian Andersen
1805–1875 · Danish fairy tale writer
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish writer and poet born in Odense, Denmark, in 1805. He moved to Copenhagen in 1819 and died there in 1875. He wrote fairy tales, novels, poems, plays, and accounts of his travels. His first collection of fairy tales appeared in 1835.
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