Andersen, Hans Christian
(1805–75). A Danish shoemaker's son who as a child had heard traditional storytelling ‘in the spinning-room or during the hop harvest’. He began writing fairytales in 1835, and continued all his life; the first English translations appeared in 1846. Some, for instance ‘The Travelling Companions’ and ‘Big Claus and Little Claus’, follow traditional plots quite closely; others are variations on old motifs, such as ‘The Little Mermaid’, elaborating ...