This name is synonymous with many popular fairy tales, many of which have been turned into beloved movies, stage plays, or even ballets – which also means many generations of readers may or may not know the original stories outside of the theatrical releases. Spoiler alert, Ariel (which is not her name) actually dies at the end of Andersen’s original tale. I’ll wait a moment for that to sink in. You ready?…not yet………………..ok, let’s keep going.
Hans Christian Andersen was born in Denmark in 1805. During his prolific career he wrote more than the fairy tales he is best remembered for, but also plays, travelogues, novels, and poems. In total, Andersen wrote 156 tales that were collected in nine volumes and are still read and loved to this day around the world. Many of his stories can be found by searching for the author’s name on Project Gutenberg’s website.
It is because of our collective fondness for the tales of Andersen that in chapter 11 of our show, we did a dramatic reading of Andersen’s story “Soup from a Sausage Skewer.” As mentioned in the show, none of us had previously read this story. It was chosen with this in mind, as well as how it could be broken up between several readers and the general length of the story as a whole. It has been written that Hans Christian Andersen incorporated many personal experiences into his stories, it would be interesting to hear what influenced him to write this particular tale.
If you want more soup, here is an episode of Hans Christian Andersen: The Fairytaler entitled Soup from a Sausage Peg. More episodes of the series can be found on Youtube.
Much has been written about Hans Christian and even some movies have been made about his life. We want to share some recommendations for further exploration about this prolific writer.
Hans Christian Andersen: His Fairy Tale Life by Hjordis Varmer
The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography by Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen (1952) starring Danny Kaye
The Daydreamer (1966) an animagic film from Rankin/Bass
Until next time, let’s read, share, and repeat!
Sibling Library 