Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.Īndersen's fairy tales, consisting of 156 stories across nine volumes and translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. Hans Christian Andersen ( / ˈ æ n d ər s ən/, Danish: ( listen) 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Assistens Cemetery, Copenhagen (København)