Book: The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen

The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen
The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen

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The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen
The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen

The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen

Author: Hans Christian Andersen / Translator, Contributor: Maria Tatar / Contributor: Julie Allen

Fairy tales are our first connection to literature and the blueprint for all storytelling in every other medium going forth from that. Growing up loving the stories as told by the Brother’s Grimm, by Perrault, and Andersen, the latter specifically holds a special place in my heart for all the beauty his language manages to convey.

Maria Tatar, the book’s leading contributor (and translator in collaboration with Julie K. Allen), came to re-evaluate her views on Andersen’s sometimes brutal tales after her undergraduate Harvard students protested her analysis of their magical childhood experiences with said stories. Divided in two parts, starting with 12 Tales for Children and continuing with lesser known stories for adults, this book is a treasure trove for all generations, full of gorgeous turn-of-the-century illustrations and margin notes tending to historical contexts, folkloric influences, and critical interpretations.

Snuggle up with your little ones (or your inner child) and let Andersen’s magic take you to that elusive place of childhood imagination and wonder without having to resort to such drastic measure as, say, fairy dust…

The book is available on Amazon.com