Think you know Hans Christian Andersen? Four experts pick his weirdest fairy tales to read this Christmas

By Ane Grum-Schwensen, Associate Professor at The Hans Christian Andersen Centre, Principal Investigator of "Fairy Tales and Stories – The Digital Manuscript Edition", University of Southern Denmark
Holger Berg, Special Consultant at The Hans Christian Andersen Centre, University of Southern Denmark
Jacob Bøggild, Associate Professor at The Hans Christian Andersen Centre, University of Southern Denmark
Sarah Bienko Eriksen, Postdoctoral Researcher at The Hans Christian Andersen Centre, University of Southern Denmark

Hans Christian Andersen is one of Denmark’s most cherished writers – a master of the literary fairy tale whose influence stretches far beyond The Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes and the other classics many of us first encounter in childhood.

Born in 1805 in Odense, on the island of Funen, Andersen was the son of a shoemaker and an illiterate washerwoman who would grow into an author who wrote across genres – novels, travelogues, poems and…

Read complete article

~	The ten most surprising facts from the 2024 election revealed

~	Clackers, magnets and water beads: how to avoid a trip to the emergency room this Christmas

~	Amadeus: Will Sharpe and Paul Bettany bring Mozart and Salieri to life in this smart and sexy TV remake

~	In this age of global uncertainty, where in the world can we look for guidance?

~	Dissecting the Grinch: what anatomy reveals about Christmas’s most famous villain

~	Why can someone in suburban Sydney own 6 guns legally? New laws might change that

~	National cabinet agrees to sweeping overhaul of Australia’s gun laws in response to Bondi massacre

~	View from The Hill: regardless of whether massacre was preventable, Albanese has been found wanting in meeting antisemitism crisis

~	The price of going home: Christmas boxes and the final return from South Africa to Zimbabwe

~	Lebanon: Israel Unlawfully Destroying Reconstruction Equipment