As the author of this book is herself a born story-teller and Hans Christian Andersen is so close and familiar to her, she brings him very close to us; we see his ugliness and his gaucherie, but she makes us forget them, for, ever shining through all his discouraging exterior qualities her skillful pen shows us his intelligence and the charm of his simple goodness; we are amazed by the contradiction in his character of humility and self-esteem.

The author has concentrated on the earlier part of this beloved storyteller's life. The world was a harsh place for an ugly, uncouth and penniless boy who was convinced that one day he would be famous. He frequently said so, and usually aroused only hostility and mockery: but there were people of discernment who were impressed by Hans Andersen even then. As he was stage-struck, Hans thought fame would come to him through acting, and it took years to convince him that he had no talent. Then he tried writing for the theatre and again had no success.

All this time he lived in Copenhagen in a cupboard of a room, for which he was overcharged by his landlady. He was ragged, usually starving, often ill, but though there were times when he despaired, he always recovered his courage. He believed that God would eventually show him the way to greatness.

When Hans began to write his stories he had no idea that this was where his genius lay: he thought much more highly of his first novel for adults. But the friend was right who told him that the novel would make him famous but the fairy tales would make him immortal.

From the dust jacket of the 1966 E. P. Dutton reprint