Hans Christian Andersen's Complete Fairy Tales

Hans Christian Andersen's Complete Fairy Tales gathers the stories of the Danish writer born in Odense in 1805, who later spent much of his working life in Copenhagen. His tales appeared from the 1830s onward, drawing on Danish folk tradition and on his own invention. The result was a form of short story that did not fit neatly into earlier European models.

The collection includes widely read tales such as The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Red Shoes, The Princess on the Pea, and The Emperor's New Clothes, together with many less familiar pieces. Some run a page or two; others stretch across several scenes. Andersen wrote for young listeners while also observing vanity, loneliness, and social rank, often through animals or household objects.

This edition is a leather-bound collector's volume that keeps the short anecdotes and the longer narratives in one place, which suits bedtime reading in small portions or a longer sitting on a wet afternoon. Because the tales vary so much in length and tone, the book can be opened at almost any page without losing the thread.