Hans Christian Andersen,(born April 2, 1805,Odense, near Copenhagen, Denmarkdied August 4, 1875,Copenhagen),unique master of the literary fairy tale whose stories are famous throughout the world; he is also the author of plays, novels, poems, travel books, and several autobiographies. While many of these works are almost unknown outside Denmark, his fairy tales are among the most frequently translated works in all literary history.Andersen was born in a slum and had a difficult battle breaking through the rigid class structure of his time. The first significant help came from Jonas Collin, one of the directors of the Royal Theatre . (100 of 731 words) LINKSRelated ArticlesAspects of the topic Hans Christian Andersen are discussed in the following places at Britannica.Assorted References birthplace in Odense (inOdense (Denmark) The home of the writer Hans Christian Andersen (born in Odense in 1805), famous for his fairy tales, is now a museum. There are also an open-air museum (Funen Village) and museums of art, archaeology, railway lore, and history. The University of Odense was founded in 1966, but, after a 1998 merger of three universities, it became a campus of the University of Southern Denmark. Pop. (2008) city,.contribution to childrens literature (inchildrens literature: Sweden) .variety, vigour, and even genius of its childrens literature. Hazards northsouth theory describes; it does not explain. A few possible factors may be listed: the inspiration of the master Andersenyet he does not seem greatly to have inspired his homeland; the appearance in 1900 of the Swedish Ellen Keys two-volume Barnets rhundrede (Eng. trans., The Century of. Danish literature (inDanish literature: Romantisme) Hans Christian Andersen is most important for his many fairy tales, such as The Ugly Duckling and Thumbelina, the majority of whose plots were his own invention. He also wrote novels, plays, travel books, and poems.fairy tale (infairy tale) .1863), but few of these tales have found permanent popularity. The master of the art fairy tale, whose works rank with the traditional stories in universal popularity, is the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. Though his stories have their roots in folk legend, they are personal in style and contain elements of autobiography and contemporary social satire. People The following are some people associated with Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen (Danish author) Places The following are some places associated with Hans Christian AndersenOdense (Denmark) Other The following is a selection of items (artistic styles or groups, constructions, events, fictional characters, organizations, publications) associated with Hans Christian AndersenDanish literature fairy tale novel (literature) LINKSExternal Web SitesThe topic Hans Christian Andersen is discussed at the following external Web sites.Hans Christian Andersen - Fairy Tales and Stories The Hans Christian Andersen Center - Hans Christian Andersens life and works Pegasos - Biography of Hans Christian Andersen Profile of this Danish writer known best for his fairy tales. Citations MLA Style: Hans Christian Andersen. Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Encyclopdia Britannica, 2011. Web. 05 Aug. 2011. . APA Style: Hans Christian Andersen. (2011). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved from http:/www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/23566/Hans-Christian-Andersenfairy taleARTICLEfrom theEncyclopdia BritannicaGet involved Share fairy tale, wonder tale involving marvellous elements and occurrences, though not necessarily about fairies. The term embraces such popular folktales (Mrchen) as “Cinderella” and “Puss-in-Boots” and art fairy tales (Kunstmrchen) of later invention, such as The Happy Prince (1888), by the Irish writer Oscar Wilde. It is often difficult to distinguish between tales of literary and oral origin, because folktales have received literary treatment from early times, and, conversely, literary tales have found their way back into the oral tradition. Early Italian collections such as Le piacevoli notti (1550, vol. 1; 1553, vol. 2; “The . (100 of 417 words) LINKSRelated ArticlesAspects of the topic fairy tale are discussed in the following places at Britannica.Assorted References relationship to myth (inmyth: Relation of myths to other narrative forms) .subdivisions as comparable to bands of colour in a spectrum. Within this figurative spectrum, there will be similarities and analogies between myth and folktale or between myth and legend or between fairy tale and folktale. In the section that follows, it is assumed that useful distinctions can be drawn between different categories. It should, however, be remembered throughout that these.contribution by Andersen (in