Before his death in 1875, Andersen regularly traveled around Europe, and was enthusiastically welcomed everywhere he went. Because he had always wanted to be famous, he worked hard to gain a reputation in European literary circles. Being a rather vain man, he complained in “The Fairy Tale of My Life,” one of three autobiographies he wrote, that people were not interested in his “serious” writing.

安徒生在1875年去世前，定期游历欧洲各地，所到之处他都受到了热烈的欢迎。由于安徒生长久以来一直渴望出名，于是他发奋工作以求能在欧洲文坛获得声望。安徒生是个颇为自命不凡的人，在他所著的三本自传之一的《我童话般的人生》一书中，他抱怨人们对他“严肃”的作品不感兴趣。

(短文节选,本篇始于--关于安徒生)