Enchanting visions of fairyland
We cannot get rid of the past, even if we try to. Just as history constantly informs the present, so childhood stays with us, shaping our gestures and responses. If the child makes the man, it is not surprising that children�s stories might also attract and please adults. Hans Christian Andersen took this insight one step further. He wrote fairytales that were aimed explicitly at both children and adults, and self-consciously used the form as a way of exploring autobiographical obsessions.
Another review of Wullschlager’s Andersen bio, plus TROUBLESOME THINGS – A History of Fairies and Fairy Stories
TROUBLESOME THINGS – A History of Fairies and Fairy Stories
The times