Hans Christian Andersen called his life a fairy tale, but as Naomi Lewis points out in her introduction, "Fairy tales also have their darker side." Though he rose from the obscurity of the slums to become one of the most famous men in the world, Andersen was often plagued by self-doubt and financial insecurity, just as the protagonists of his stories are faced with terrible trials-but of course, it is these dark moments that are among the most memorable aspects of his work. From the more than one handred and sixty tales that Andersen wrote, thirteen of his best are brought to life by Naomi Lewis and Joel Stewart in this volume, including "The Princess and the Pea, " "Thumbelina, " "The Emperor's New Clothes, " "The Little Mermaid, " "The Ugly Duckling, " and "The Snow Queen."

Irresistible humor, beguiling conversational style, the invention of giving speech to objects...the hallmarks of Hans Christian Andersen's style are to be found here in abundance, their brilliance undiminished by time.