Hans Christian Andersen
From Conservapedia
Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a great Danish writer.
He became famous for his fairy tales in the 1840s.
In the English-speaking world, the stories "The Ugly Duckling", "The Little Mermaid, "The Emperor's New Clothes", and "The Princess and the Pea" are cultural universals; everyone knows them, though not everyone can name the author. They have become part of our common heritage, and, like the tales of Charles Perrault, are no longer distinguished from actual folk-tales such as those of the Brothers Grimm.
In the 1850s, Andersen visited Charles Dickens. Dickens did not like him, and the very unpleasant character of Uriah Heep in David Copperfield is thought to be based on Andersen.
Some people think that the story of The Emperor's Nightingale is a reference to the famous singer Jenny Lind. She was called "the Swedish Nightingale." Andersen loved Jenny Lind, but she did not love him back.
The movie
The 1952 movie musical Hans Christian Andersen paints a completely fictional picture of Andersen. Danish critics hated the picture, and one of them said "It will cost America's reputation so much that it will take the United States Information Service in Denmark fifty years to make up the loss." They also complained that the scenery and costumes looked German rather than Danish. It was nevertheless a huge success and is still a beloved film. U. S. critics praised Danny Kaye's performance, the songs by Frank Loesser, and "such lovely ballet dancing as been seldom seen in films."
