H.C. Andersen: The Shoes of Fortune

Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, in 1805. He arrived in the world in a poor neighborhood and fought a hard battle to overcome the rigid class structure of the era. After entering Copenhagen University in 1828, his first major work, A Walk Through the Holmen Canal to the East End of Amager Island, was published in 1828 and 1929. Written in the style of the German writer ETA Hoffmann, this fantastical tale soon became a success. Andersen, who also wrote plays and novels, became famous for his Tales, often based on folk legends. He brought a real innovation to the genre with his unique way of telling stories. Breaking the literary tradition of his age, he used idioms and patterns of everyday language. His tales became one of the most translated works in the history of world literature. He died in Copenhagen in 1875.