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    The Snow Queen - The Golden Age of Illustration Series
    The Snow Queen - The Golden Age of Illustration Series
    The Snow Queen - The Golden Age of Illustration Series
    Ebook190 pages1 hour

    The Snow Queen - The Golden Age of Illustration Series

    By Hans Christian Anderson

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    This volume of the Golden Age of Illustration Series contains Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Snow Queen’. This classic fairy tale has been continuously in print in different editions since its first publication, with many, many, different artists illustrating the story over the years. This edition features a beautiful collection of the best of that art, taken from the likes of Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, Harry Clarke, Honor Appleton, Jennie Harbour, among others.

    This series of books celebrates the Golden Age of Illustration. During this period, the popularity, abundance and – most importantly – the unprecedented upsurge in the quality of illustrated works marked an astounding change in the way that publishers, artists and the general public came to view this hitherto insufficiently esteemed art form.

    The Golden Age of Illustration Series, has sourced the rare original editions of these books and reproduced the beautiful art work in order to build a unique collection of illustrated fairy tales.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateDec 2, 2015
    ISBN9781473365094
    The Snow Queen - The Golden Age of Illustration Series
    Author

    Hans Christian Anderson

    Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875) was a Danish author and poet, most famous for his fairy tales. Among his best-known stories are The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Little Match Girl, The Ugly Duckling and The Red Shoes. During Andersen's lifetime he was feted by royalty and acclaimed for having brought joy to children across Europe. His fairy tales have been translated into over 150 languages and continue to be published in millions of copies all over the world and inspired many other works.

    Read more from Hans Christian Anderson

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    Reviews for The Snow Queen - The Golden Age of Illustration Series

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      This is one of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales that I was not very familiar with. In this story Gerda and Kay are best friends who do everything together. When a piece of a cursed mirror falls into Kay's eye and another settles in his heart, he becomes a different person. He is mean to Gerda and does not play with her anymore. When he is sledding with his friends, he grabs onto a white sleigh and is taken off by the Snow Queen. When he does not return home that night, Gerda sets off to find him. She has many adventures and meets both people and animals that help her in her quest. One quote I love from this story is:

      "I can't give the girl more power than she already has! Can't you see how powerful she is? Can't you see how people and animals all serve her? And how far she's got in the world just on her own two feet?"

      This is a story of friendship, perseverance and doing what feels right. I just wish that there had been more information about what happened when Kay went to live with the snow queen and what happened to him there.

      I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      I had never read The Snow Queen before this, but the cover just drew me in and I HAD to do it.. The story was fantastical and at parts heartbreaking, with another good theme to it. I enjoyed this novella very much and now I understand all the remakes and shows and movies that have borrowed from this story. Absolutely brilliant. I would recommend this book. 4 out of 5 stars.
    • 5/5
      Beautifully illustrated.
    • 4/5
      The story of a little girl, and a little boy, and how they were separated and brought back together. This is a quaint story told in fairy tale fashion. The reader, Julia Whelan does a fine job. There were a few bits I found tedious, but that may be my impatient spirit at the moment. Brutal in some parts, a reminder that people didn't used to hide the evil or bad parts of life from children. I liked the allusion to the fragments of mirror distorting one's view of the world and all things good in the world, but I really didn't get the ending with the song of baby Jesus and the roses. An enjoyable story though, and just over an hour long.
    • 3/5
      I got this book for free from Audible. Not my favorite Andersen tale, but it wasn't so bad, specially for a "Christmas tale". It's a cute story, though I think it's better suited for younger people. You can take a couple of interesting aspects from this book though. First of all, the lack of a damsel in distress. The main character is a girl that tries to find her best friend after he has been hit with a glass shard that turned his heart cold. She does get her share of help, but she is in no way a damsel in distress. I also enjoyed the entities she found on her way, her determination and strength. And, of course, there is the weight of friendship instead of the whole "true love" thing, which is absolutely lovely.
      Anyway, it's worth checking it out.
    • 5/5
      This is very special book for me. The story is wonderful and the illustrations are full of living art and beauty.The art in this book is truly breathtaking, the details are amazing! I just agreed with many readers about it. For example: "This is perhaps the most extraordinary children's book that I have ever seen.' - Paulo Coelho, Internationally selebrated writer. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil" Or: "The full page illustrations by the award winning Ukrainian artist, Vladyslav Yerko, are alone worth the price of the book. I recommend it to all ages." Robert Goldsborough, Writer and former Chicago Tribune Magazine editor* I found special edition of The Snow Queen book on the site snowqueen.us
    • 4/5
      Really enjoyed the book reading by Julia Whelan and really enjoyed the book. Will be recommending it to all my friends and family.
    • 5/5
      The only reason I got myself a copy of The Snow Queen - and then I mean this particular edition, is cos I love Sanna Annukka (her illustrations, that is). Though now I've gotta admit I had forgotten how lovely this tale is! Really enjoyed it!
    • 5/5
      The book is a fast-paced, adventure-laden story of the contrasting lives of two 19th century girls, one raised in the "civilized" portion of Scandinavia, the other the daughter of a shaman and a robber-baron of Lapland. Together they must confront the Ice Queen, sorceress of the icy Northern wastes. When Gerda leaves home to track down Kai, the boy she wishes would return her love and who has gone North with a mysterious countess to study arcane subjects, she little expects to become the captive of a robber baron of Northern Finland and his daughter's pet plaything. Ritva, the shaman's headstrong daughter comes to realize that Gerda is not just a human pet, fit only to amuse her. Together they seek the Snow Queen's castle in the Northern fastness. Gerda's rational and common sense approach, along with Ritva's innate fey nature and her reindeer, Ba, allow them to release Kai and escape. Ultimately though, Gerda can see that Kai will never truly be interested in her. As a book for young adults The Snow Queen is just fine, proceeding quickly but in an exciting and page-turning manner. However, the best of childrens' literature reads well for both youngsters and adults, though obviously on different levels. For an older reader The Snow Queen lacks somewhat in depth and, in several instances, I would have liked a particular scene or narrative to continue longer and in more detail. The narrative often skipped forward several weeks or months. This to a certain extent is probably due to the fairy tale source/style, a genre which frequently uses such leaps in time or space, but in The Snow Queen this often precluded anything but the sketchiest details of the society and landscapes around the two young women.
    • 4/5
      I shouldn't have read this as an audiobook - the illustration potential must be astounding. Even still, it's a great story about love and the beauty of life. Having read about Anderson's personal life, it's interesting to see the incredible beauty he was able to see the everyday and the magic he was able to pull from thin-air.
    • 4/5
      The Snow Queen is about a set of friends named, Kai and Gerda, who do everything together before the snow queen blows ice glass into kai's eyes and heart. Gerda goes on a dangerous journey to the snow queen's palace to save Kai despite his change in behavior and saves him with her warm hearted love. This is a good fantasy because there are trolls and evil snow queens involved also a young child goes on a journey by herself through many dangerous places without proper tools and clothing. would use this in intermediate grades may be too intense and scary for younger kids despite its happy ending. illustrations: fine-line pen with ink and dyes applied over a detailed pencil drawing that was then erased.
    • 4/5
      This is a lovely reading of Andersen's story of Gerda and her friend Kai, who becomes contaminated by the shards of a demon-made magic mirror, and succumbs to the lure of the Snow Queen.

      Gerda sees the change in her friend when he is affected by the shards, and when he vanishes, she will not believe that he is dead. She sets off on quest to find him, armed chiefly with her courage, loyalty, and good heart.

      Something that may seem unexpected to those who grew up on Disney versions of fairy tales is that nearly all the strong characters here, both good and ill, at least the human ones, are women and girls.

      Julia Whelan is an excellent narrator, with a delightful voice, and she strikes exactly the right tone in reading this.

      Recommended.

      This book is free on Audible until January 31, 2015.

    Book preview

    The Snow Queen - The Golden Age of Illustration Series - Hans Christian Anderson

    Biography of

    Hans Christian Andersen

    Illustrated by Anne Anderson

    "First, you undergo such a terrible amount of suffering,

    and then you become famous."

    This quote, taken from Hans Christian Andersen’s autobiography The Fairy Tale of My Life (1855), could serve as a one-sentence biography of the great writer. Before he achieved global fame as an author of children’s literature on a par with Aesop and the Brothers Grimm, Andersen suffered three decades of toil, isolation and strife. Had it not been for his unwavering determination to become a professional writer, the literary realm may never have been gifted tales such now-timeless as ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ and ‘The Ugly Duckling’.

    *

    Born in Odense, the third largest city in Denmark, on Tuesday 2nd April 1805, Andersen was the only son of a sickly, 22-year old shoemaker and his older wife. His family were virtually penniless, and Andersen grew up in a one-bedroom house in Odense’s poorest quarter. In his youth, he attended school sporadically, and spent far more time memorizing and reciting stories than studying in any traditional fashion. This propensity for storytelling, combined with the sudden death of his father in 1816, led to Andersen’s mother deciding her eleven-year son needed to learn a proper, wage-paying trade. She sent him to apprentice as a weaver, after which he worked reluctantly in a tobacco factory and a tailor’s shop.

    In 1819, aged fourteen, Andersen travelled a hundred miles to the Danish capital Copenhagen to seek his fortune. However, his first three years were marked by extreme poverty and a string of failed financial endeavours. At first, having an excellent soprano voice, Andersen was accepted into a boy’s choir, but when his voice began to break he was forced to quit. He then attempted to become a ballet dancer, but his tall, gangly body prevented him from finding any success. In desperation, Andersen even attempted manual labour – a style of work to which he had never been suited. During these three years, following advice given him by a poet he had met while singing in the choir, Andersen began to write, penning a number of short stories and poems.

    In 1822, at the age of 17, Andersen’s dogged persistence paid off, following a chance encounter with a man named Jonas Collin. Collin was director of the Royal Danish Theatre, and having read a number of Andersen’s writings – including his first published story, ‘The Ghost at Palnatoke’s Grave’ – felt convinced he showed promise. Collin approached King Frederik VI (1768-1839), and managed to convince the monarch to partially fund the young artist’s education. (In recent times, various other theories pertaining to Andersen’s royal connection have arisen, stemming from both Andersen’s father’s firm belief that he possessed noble heritage, and the notion that Andersen himself may have been an illegitimate son of the royal family.)

    Andersen began his education in the towns of Slagelse and Helsingor, on the Danish island of Zealand. However, despite receiving the finest schooling, he was an average student – possibly because he suffered from dyslexia – and was mocked by other pupils for his desire to become a writer. At one point, he lived at his schoolmaster’s home, where he was physically abused. Andersen would later describe his time in school as the most unhappy period of his life. In 1827, his despair led Jonas Collin to remove him from school, and organise for Andersen to complete his studies in Copenhagen with a private teacher. In 1828, the 23-year old passed the required exams for entrance into the University of Copenhagen.

    In 1829, during his first year of university studies, Andersen achieved his first notable literary success with a short story entitled ‘A Journey on Foot from Holmen’s Canal to the East Point of Amager’. During the same semester, he published a comedy and a collection of poems. Four years later, Andersen received a grant from King Frederik for travel expenses, and spent the next 18 months roaming through Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy – the last of which he was deeply fond. For Andersen, this trip began a lifelong infatuation with travel – over the course of his life he would embark on some thirty extended journeys, spending a combined fifteen years of his life in other countries. Indeed, aside from the fairy tales that would eventually cement his fame, Andersen was renowned for his vivid travelogues, and is credited with having declared to travel is to live.

    In 1835, Andersen published his breakthrough piece of writing – an autobiographical novel titled The Improvisatore. An instant success, the book’s detailing of rural Italy delighted readers all across Europe, and it was translated into French and German within two years of its publication. Also in 1835, Andersen published the first of his now-legendary fairy tales. Despite their modern status, these first efforts weren’t immediate successes, being overshadowed by his next two novels, O.T. (1836) and Only a Fiddler (1837), and his Scandinavianist poem I am a Scandinavian (1840).

    The fame of Andersen’s fairy tales (revolutionary in the field of Danish children’s literature) began to grow during the late thirties. Between 1835 and 1837, over three booklets, he published his first collection of stories, which included ‘The Tinderbox’, ‘The Princess and the Pea’, ‘Thumbelina’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, and ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’. In 1838, he published his second series, Fairy Tales Told for Children, which consisted of ‘The Daisy’, well-known tale ‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier’ and ‘The Wild Swans’. Over the next seven years, Andersen continued to regularly publish collections, the 1843 version of which included ‘The Ugly Duckling’ – cementing his reputation as a leading author of children’s literature. Over the rest of his life, Andersen would go on to publish a total of more than a hundred and fifty fairy tales.

    In 1838, the spectre of poverty was banished from Andersen’s life forever, when King Frederick VI awarded him an annual stipend for life. By the 1840s, he was an internationally renowned author, celebrated across the continent for his apparently inimitable storytelling gift. During visits to Germany and England in 1846 and 1847 respectively,

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