I bought Taschen’s collected volume of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales for the Arthur Rackham illustrations, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is a well-rounded collection. It showcases a selection of 16 tales (a small amount when we’re considering Andersen’s extensive oeuvre), but it spans the range of his literary abilities to include most of his popular tales (“The Little Mermaid,” etc) and others which are less well-known (“The Nightingale”). Each tale is introduced by the editor, who also provides a broad biography of Andersen to start the collection off, which gives discerning readers a glimpse into the social atmosphere and motivations which drove Andersen to explore some of the genre’s most unique and interesting themes in his various writings. The illustrations and overall design of the volume are what makes it stand out, though, in comparison to other fairy tale anthologies. Collected alongside the tales are a range of illustrations which span from Andersen’s contemporaries to the 1980s and feature artists from all types of backgrounds - proving that these simple fairy tales are more than they seem and appeal to a global audience. A few of the illustrators I am very familiar with (Arthur Rackham and Kay Nielsen, particularly), but it was gratifying to see different artists provide new (to me, at least) illustrations to familiar tales. I think Taschen could have easily doubled the volume of this collection, since Andersen’s catalogue provides an almost endless stream of inspiration and there are plenty of other wonderful artists who could have been tapped for imagery (both historical and contemporary)! ( )

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