This book contains insight from my lifetime of research into Hans Christian Andersen's writing. It depicts him as the genius and deeply peculiar person he was, for better or worse, and reviews and interprets his most famous fairy tales. If he had known that his fairy tales would be read all over the world, he would hardly have been surprised. He was convinced that his talent warranted worldwide fame, and that his dreams would come true to the extent that they would continue to captivate his readers for centuries to come.