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The Ugly Duckling,
The Little Match Girl,
The Princess and the Pea, and many others. However, few people know much about the man behind these famous fairy tales a man who endured many hardships and, by some accounts, transformed his pain into art. Here are seven surprising facts about Andersen’s life and legacy that you won t find in the children s section of a bookstore.
1. Some of Hans Christian Andersen s fairy tales are autobiographical.
According to scholars, the tale of
The Ugly Duckling reflects Andersen’s own feelings of alienation. As a boy, he was teased for his appearance and high-pitched voice, which often made him feel isolated, and he later wrote a story about a boy named Hans who gets made fun of as a child. Much like the ugly duckling, Andersen only later in life became the “swan” a cultured, world-renowned writer with friends in high places. Andersen even admitted of