From 1852 onward, Andersen began publishing his new works under the title Historier (Stories) rather than Eventyr (Fairy Tales), signaling a deliberate shift in his ambitions. The earlier collections were “fairy tales told for children”; these were stories for all ages, and many were explicitly aimed at adult readers.
The change was more than nominal. The later stories are longer, more psychologically complex, and often darker than the earlier fairy tales. “The Shadow” (1847) — in which a man’s shadow separates from him, grows independent, and eventually replaces him — is a story of identity dissolution and psychological horror. “The Story of a Mother” (1847) depicts a mother’s journey to Death’s garden to reclaim her child, and its emotional intensity is almost unbearable. “Auntie Toothache” (1872), one of Andersen’s last stories, is a surreal meditation on pain, creativity, and the relationship between suffering and art.
Andersen’s narrative range in these later collections is extraordinary: he writes allegories, psychological studies, social satires, nature descriptions, and philosophical meditations. Some (“The Ice Maiden,” “The Wind Tells About Valdemar Daae and His Daughters”) are novella-length; others are as compressed as poems. The unifying quality is Andersen’s voice — conversational, intimate, apparently simple but capable of conveying complex emotional states with perfect economy.
Collecting Stories and Tales
The bibliographic history is complex; stories appeared in numerous Danish collections and were translated piecemeal into multiple languages.
Market values:
- Original Danish collections (1852–1872): $100–$500
- Complete English-language collections (various translators): $20–$100
- Modern scholarly editions: $15–$40