The Snowman (fairy tale)

"The Snowman"
Short story by Hans Christian Andersen
The Hanfstaengl portrait of Andersen
July 1860
Original titleSneemanden
CountryDenmark
LanguageDanish
Genre(s)Literary fairy tale
Publication
Published inNew Fairy Tales and Stories. Second Series. First Collection. 1861. (Nye Eventyr og Historier. Anden Række. Første Samling. 1861.)
Publication typeFairy tale collection
PublisherC.A. Reitzel
Media typePrint
Publication date2 March 1861
Chronology
 
What the Old Man Does is Always Right
 
In the Duck Yard

"The Snowman" (Danish: Sneemanden) is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a snowman who falls in love with a stove.[1] It was published by C.A. Reitzel in Copenhagen as Sneemanden on 2 March 1861.[2] Andersen biographer Jackie Wullschlager describes the tale as a lyrical and poignant complement to Andersen's "The Fir-Tree" of December 1844.[3]


Scharff as Gennaro in Bournonville's ballet Napoli, 1860
An illustration c. 1870 from "The Snowman": "He had been born amid the triumphant shouts of the boys, and welcomed by the jingling of sleigh bells and the cracking of whips from the passing sleighs." ("The Snowman". H.C. Andersen, translated by Jean Hersholt, 1949)