Gay News from London

Hans Christian Andersen was a gay virgin

Danish fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen was gay and never acted on his homosexual tendencies. That's the story told by a new biography called "The Fairy Tale of My Life," published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Andersen's birth. Authored by Jens Andersen, the author claims Andersen fell in love, but could not bring himself to overcome societal strictures against homosexuality. In modern parlance, "he was just not that into girls," the author says. Consequently Andersen channeled his sexual energies into his writing, creating some of the finest fairy-tale fiction ever written. Many of the fairy tales may be read as gay allegories, and some are clearly autobiographical. "The Little Mermaid" was written in 1836 following the marriage of Edvard Collin, who may have been the love of Andersen's life.
Expatica[Date: 12-Feb-05 ]