French Literature Reviews - 2026

Andersen, The Story of My Life
Writers: Biography, Letters and Memoirs

Andersen, The Story of My Life

Paris : Les Belles Lettres, 2019.

312 pp.

EAN 9782251449388

14,90 EUR

Publisher's Description:

Perhaps the most extraordinary of Hans Christian Andersen's narratives is the one he titled The Story of My Life: his autobiography. Born in Odense, Denmark, into a family of great poverty, he moved to Copenhagen where he lived in the red-light district. He tried his hand at singing, dancing, and dramatic arts, but it was in literature that he found his salvation. Novels, poems, and plays followed one after another before he revealed his genius in the wonderful fairy tales that would establish his reputation. He became famous, celebrated throughout Europe, and translated worldwide! It was with a certain ingenuousness that he recounted his life in 1847, after numerous travels: a kind of epic where one encounters, among others, Dickens, Balzac, Lamartine, and Alexandre Dumas, all of whom admired him.

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) is the author of globally famous tales such as The Ugly Duckling, The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep, The Snow Queen, The Princess and the Pea, The Little Match Girl, The Little Mermaid, and over a hundred others that continue to bring "joy to children... and adults alike" today.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

1. Dreams of a Poor Child
2. Actor, Poet, or Failure?
3. The Terrible Principal Meisling
4. First Journeys
5. Danes in Paris
6. From Rome to Vienna
7. "The Improvisatore"
8. Return to Theatre and Journey to the Orient
9. The Sculptor Thorvaldsen
10. Romantic Paris
11. The Swedish Nightingale Germany
12. The Unknown Author
13. New Journeys
14. The Fairy Tales
15. In Dickens' Country
16. Troubles in Denmark
17. "In Sweden"
18. Joys and Sorrows
19. "The Story of My Life"

Summary of the continuation of The Story of My Life 1855-1867
Documents
Glossary

Hans Christian Andersen holds a towering place in nineteenth-century Scandinavian literature and the broader European Romantic tradition. Best known globally for his innovative fairy tales that blend folklore, moral depth, and whimsical charm, he was also a prolific novelist, dramatist, and travel writer. This autobiographical work offers a fascinating window into his literary ambitions and his interactions with major cultural figures of his era, including Charles Dickens, Honoré de Balzac, and Alexandre Dumas. It is particularly valuable for scholars and enthusiasts of nineteenth-century European literature who wish to understand the man behind timeless classics like The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling.

This edition from Les Belles Lettres provides readers with an accessible entry point into Andersen's personal narrative, tracing his evolution from an impoverished youth in Odense to an internationally celebrated author. The text sheds light on the creative processes and biographical realities that shaped his literary output, touching upon his early struggles in Copenhagen, his extensive European travels, and the reception of works such as The Improvisatore. Students of biography, nineteenth-century cultural history, and Scandinavian studies will find this volume an engaging resource for exploring the intersection of life writing and artistic creation in the Romantic age.