Monday, December 17, 2012

Hans Christian Andersen Discovery

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A new story by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen has been discovered in the attic of a neighbor. What a gift to the world! You can read the entire story here:
The Tallow Candle

From Smithsonian:

A historian in Denmark may have discovered Hans Christian Andersen’s first fairy tale ever. The story, called “The Tallow Candle,” was discovered at the bottom of an old box in Denmark’s national library. Politiken Denmark spoke with Ejnar Stig Askgaard of the Odense City Museum, who has been studying the discovery:
“This is a sensational discovery. Partly because it must be seen as Andersen’s first fairy tale, and partly because it shows that he was interested in the fairy tale as a young man, before his authorship began”, Askgaard says. “And I am in no doubt that it has been written by Andersen”, he adds.
The front page of the story is dedicated to a Madam Bunkenflod, who lived across the street from Andersen’s childhood home. Discovery writes:
Historians know that the writer visited her often as a child, borrowing her books.
“The fairy tale was a present. A present of thanks to a woman whose home had been very important to him,” Askgaard said.
The Bunkeflod family then sent the manuscript to another family close to Andersen, the Plum family, in whose archives the story was found. A dedication written on the document later in blue ink reads: “To P Plum from his friend Bunkeflod.”

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