Andersen was born on April 2, 1805, in Odense, Denmark. … While the Andersen family was not wealthy, young Andersen was educated in boarding schools for the privileged. The circumstances of Andersen’s education have fueled speculation that he was an illegitimate member of the Danish royal family.
Was Hans Christian Andersen a real person?
Hans Christian Andersen, (born April 2, 1805, Odense, near Copenhagen, Denmark—died August 4, 1875, Copenhagen), Danish master of the literary fairy tale whose stories achieved wide renown. He is also the author of plays, novels, poems, travel books, and several autobiographies.
Was Hans Christian Andersen poor?
Born on April 2, 1805, in Odense, Denmark, Andersen grew up in stark poverty, but his father, a shoemaker, cultivated his imagination. … Andersen was a solitary child who spent most of his time making costumes for puppets and enacting plays on a model stage his father had built for him.
Did Hans Christian Andersen write his own stories?
Andersen began his fairy-tale writing by retelling folk tales he had heard as a child from his grandmother and others. Soon, however, he began to create his own stories. Most of his tales are original. … Among his most popular tales are “The Ugly Duckling,” “The Princess and the Pea,” and “The Little Mermaid.”
Did Hans Christian Andersen try to do anything else besides writing?
Although Andersen is often regarded as a pure and chaste figure, he was no stranger to lustful thoughts. When he was 61 years old, he went to a brothel in Paris for the first time and paid a prostitute, but didn’t do anything except watch her undress.