The Little Mermaid: The Classic Danish Fairytale (Illustrated)
About this ebook
The youngest daughter of the Sea King cannot wait to be old enough to go to the surface and see the world of humans. Her first visit there changes her life forever when she saves a prince from drowning, and comes to love him above all others. For the chance to win his love and gain an immortal soul, the little sea princess is willing to risk everything…
First published in 1837, Hans Christian Andersen’s haunting tale of love is brought to an English readership in this illustrated and unabridged edition, which has been translated directly from the original Danish into English and includes illustrations by Ivan Bilibin.
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About the author
Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author. A prolific writer of plays, novels, travel books, and several autobiographies, his works are almost unknown outside of Denmark except for his literary fairytales, which are widely renowned and are among the most frequently translated works in all of literary history, and have inspired ballets, plays, and movies.
Born to poor parents, Andersen fought the rigid class structure of his time throughout his life. Andersen’s father, also Hans, introduced him to literature. Following his father’s death in 1816, his mother, Anne Marie Andersdatter, remarried in 1818, and Andersen received a basic education and supported himself, being an apprentice to a weaver then a tailor.
At 14, Andersen moved to Copenhagen in the vain hope of winning fame as an actor. One of the directors of the Royal Danish Theatre, Jonas Collin, held great affection for Andersen and raised money to send him to a grammar school, which he later said were the darkest and most bitter years of his life. Despite being discouraged from writing, he self-published a short story in 1929, which was a fantastic tale in the style of E. T. A. Hoffmann, and enjoyed considerable success. He then turned to playwriting. The theatre, however, was not to become his field, and for a long time he was regarded primarily as a novelist—most of his novels are autobiographical.
Andersen’s first book of fairytales was published in three instalments between 1835 and 1837, and included stories such as “The Princess and The Pea,” “Thumbelina,” and “The Little Mermaid,” which was influenced by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué’s “Undine” (1811) and lore about mermaids. These were not immediately recognised and sold poorly, but he returned with more collections, which included “The Snow Queen” and “The Ugly Duckling.” 1845 saw his works begin to be translated, and he would continue to write and publish fairytales in instalments until 1872, three years before his death.
Rachel Louise Lawrence is a British author who translates and adapts folk and fairy tales from original texts and puts them back into print, particularly the lesser-known British & Celtic variants.
Since writing her first story at the age of six, Rachel has never lost her love of writing and reading. A keen wildlife photographer and gardener, she is currently working on several writing projects.
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