Andersen's Fairy Tales: Bedtime Story

Hans Christian Andersen often referred to in Scandinavia as H. C. Andersen; April 2, 1805 – August 4, 1875) was a Danish author and poet. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children; his stories—called eventyr, or "fairy-tales"—express themes that transcend age and nationality.

Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. They have inspired motion pictures, plays, ballets, and animated films.

In the spring of 1872, Andersen fell out of his bed and was severely hurt, never fully recovering. Soon after he started to have signs of liver cancer, dying on August 4, 1875 in a house called Rolighed (literally: calmness), near Copenhagen, the home of his close friends, the banker Moritz Melchior and his wife. Shortly before his death, he had consulted a composer about the music for his funeral, saying: "Most of the people who will walk after me will be children, so make the beat keep time with little steps." His body was interred in the Assistens Kirkegård in the Nørrebro area of Copenhagen. At the time of his death, Andersen was internationally treasured. The Danish Government paid him an annual stipend as a "national treasure". Even before his death, steps had already been taken to erect a large statue in his honor by sculptor August Saabye, which can now be seen in the Rosenborg Castle Gardens in Copenhagen.