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The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen by Maria Tatar, Julie K. Allen, Hans Christian Andersen
phoebebrooke's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
Reading Andersen is like never having to wake from a dream.
Reading Andersen is like never having to wake from a dream.
wynwicket's review against another edition
5.0
I'm so glad I picked this up. Alongside a very readable translation of some of the original tales (divided into Stories for Children and Stories for Adults), Maria Tatar presents a wealth of comments and criticism from all sorts of scholars, writers, and folklorists, in addition to social commentary and historical tidbits. My reading list has grown significantly.
My favorite stories: The Shadow, The Wild Swans, Ole Shut-Eye. The Red Shoes was ghastly. Also, I wasn't aware how many religious undertones there were in Andersen's stories.
I learned so much. I learned that Andersen's short story "The Most Astonishing Thing" was reprinted in 1942 by a group of scholars that would soon become leaders of the Danish resistance during World War II. I learned that the Finnish word for the Aurora Borealis is "revontulet," meaning "fox fires," because according the Finnish folklore, the lights are created by Arctic foxes brushing their tails against the snow. And I learned that Anderson *really* did not like children.
ALSO, the tales are presented with artists' representations of them through the decades. Beautiful illustrations, and very, very cool.
My favorite stories: The Shadow, The Wild Swans, Ole Shut-Eye. The Red Shoes was ghastly. Also, I wasn't aware how many religious undertones there were in Andersen's stories.
I learned so much. I learned that Andersen's short story "The Most Astonishing Thing" was reprinted in 1942 by a group of scholars that would soon become leaders of the Danish resistance during World War II. I learned that the Finnish word for the Aurora Borealis is "revontulet," meaning "fox fires," because according the Finnish folklore, the lights are created by Arctic foxes brushing their tails against the snow. And I learned that Anderson *really* did not like children.
ALSO, the tales are presented with artists' representations of them through the decades. Beautiful illustrations, and very, very cool.
eupomene's review against another edition
3.0
For fairy tale fans this is a must have, along with the Grimm's. Andersen was definitely more prolific and many of his tales are not in here but Maria Tatar does include the most famous (Snow Queen, Little Mermaid, etc) along with some lesser known stories that I had never seen. As usual, a gorgeously packaged read from WW Norton. I love collecting these, and the annotations add a new level to a reading of tales we think we remember.
crowyhead's review against another edition
5.0
Whether you're a fan of Hans Christian Andersen, or whether you find his tales moralistic and depressing, it's hard to deny the impact he's had on modern culture and fantasy. This is a beautifully designed volume; the annotations are marginal, so there's no flipping back and forth, and they provide a lot of insight into the background of the stories. The volume is gorgeously illustrated with reproductions of the illustrations that originally accompanied the various stories. There's also biographical information about Andersen, as well as short biographical sketches of the artists who most famously illustrated his works.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
5.0
Another edition in Tatar's annotated fairy tale series. This edition includes well known tales, such as "The Little Mermaid", as well as stories for adults. It is well illustrated and includes a section at the end where authors give thier thoughts on Andersen. While not intended solely for children, the book's illustrations make it child friendly, while the annotations make it attractive for adults.
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