Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, on 2 April 1805. His father was a poor shoemaker and his mother a washerwoman - the family didn't have a permanent address until 1807.

After his father died in 1816, HCA, aged 11, was forced to find work. He was apprenticed to a weaver and tailor and he also worked in a tobacco factory.

HCA had a beautiful soprano voice and aspired to a career as a singer and actor - then his voice broke!

His mother, uneducated and superstitious, encouraged him to write fairy tales and indulged his passion for puppet theatre.

Andersen combined folk legends, moral teachings and humour with great imagination to create fairy tales, which were not merely for children but adults as well. His tales broke new ground in both style and content - and not all of them had a happy ending.

His works influenced, amongst others, Charles Dickens, William Thackery, Oscar Wilde, C.S.Lewis, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, whose last poem, published shortly before her death in 1861, was written especially for Andersen.

Though best remembered for his fairy tales (190 in all) HCA also wrote three autogiographies, 5 travel journals, 6 novels, as well as plays and numerous fine examples of impressionistic prose.

During his lifetime, HCA's most widely read waork was not his now famous fairy tales but a novel, The Improvisatore (1835). The story, set in Italy, was autobiographical and depicted a poor boy's integation into society; an Ugly Duckling theme of self-discovery to which Andersen returned in several of his works.

HCA died on the 4 August 1875. Today, in his home town of Odense, there are two museums devoted to his life and work. In addition, The University of Odense houses The Hans Christian Andersen Centre, which continues to promote his work and each year awards a substantial prize in Andersen's name to authors and illustrators in recognition of their outstanding contribution to children's literature.