Comfortable ClassicsComfortable Classics
A little mermaid gives up her voice for a chance at love. An awkward, mocked duckling discovers he is a swan. A tin soldier with only one leg stands steadfast through every danger. The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen are among the most beloved stories ever written, and for nearly two centuries they have touched the hearts of children and adults around the world.
Andersen was born in 1805 in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a teenager he went alone to Copenhagen, determined to make his way in the theater, and endured years of poverty and rejection before finding success as a writer. In 1835 he published his first small booklet of tales for children, and he went on writing them until 1872. Over those years he created some of the most famous stories in the world.
Unlike the Brothers Grimm, who collected old folk tales, Andersen invented most of his own, though a few began as stories he heard as a child. That gives his tales a voice all their own: tender, witty, sometimes melancholy, and full of wonder. In "The Emperor's New Clothes," only a child dares to say what everyone can see. In "The Princess and the Pea," a single pea beneath twenty mattresses reveals a true princess. "The Snow Queen" follows brave little Gerda on a long journey to rescue her friend Kai from the icy palace of the Snow Queen, a tale that inspired the film Frozen. "The Little Match Girl," "Thumbelina," and "The Nightingale" have become part of the shared memory of childhood.
Andersen often drew on his own life: the outsider who doesn't fit in, the humble person whose worth goes unseen, the longing for love and beauty. Some of his stories end in sorrow, which is part of their honesty and their lasting power. They speak of kindness, humility, courage, faith, and the quiet dignity of ordinary things. Several tales are bittersweet, so parents may like to read ahead with very young children.
Comfortable Classics was created to help families build a library worth keeping. Each book in the series shares the same handsome design, a black cover with warm wood-grain bands and a parchment panel. Only the title lettering changes, chosen to suit each book's spirit. Together they make a matching collection that looks beautiful on a shelf and invites you to take the next one down.
Classics meant to be kept, studied, and handed down.
Andersen wrote for children but kept the grown-ups listening too. Read these tales aloud at bedtime and share the ones you loved as a child.
Part of the Comfortable Classics series. Collect the matching set.
