The Little Match Girl - The Golden Age of Illustration Series

By Hans Christian Andersen

This touching fairy tale is Hans Christian Andersen’s tragic story of a young girl who’s left alone on the snowy streets the night of New Year’s Eve.

In the cold and dark of a snowy New Year’s Eve, a young girl desperately tries to sell enough matches so she can return home without facing punishment from her father. But as night draws in, and the child fails to sell her wares, she begins to use the matches as a last attempt to stay warm. As she loses consciousness, she begins to envision the most beautiful things around her.

First published in 1824, this classic story is a moral tale, evidencing the result of selfish or uncaring behaviour. As part of the Golden Age of Illustration series, this edition of The Little Match Girl features beautiful artwork from the likes of Arthur Rackham, Mabel Lucie Attwell, Harry Clarke, Honor Appleton, Maxwell Armfield, among others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Apr 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781473380042

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875) was a Danish author and poet, most famous for his fairy tales. Among his best-known stories are The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Little Match Girl, The Ugly Duckling and The Red Shoes. During Andersen's lifetime he was feted by royalty and acclaimed for having brought joy to children across Europe. His fairy tales have been translated into over 150 languages and continue to be published in millions of copies all over the world and inspired many other works.

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Contents

List of Illustrations

Hans Christian Andersen

The Golden Age of Illustration

The Little Match Girl

Illustrator Biographies

Honor C. Appleton

Maxwell Armfield

A. W. Bayes

Gordon Browne

The Dalziel Brothers

Harry Clarke

Arthur J. Gaskin

Jennie Harbour

Arthur Rackham

Charles Robinson

W. Heath Robinson

Helen Stratton

Hans Tegner

List of Illustrations

The Little Match Girl.

Honor Appleton

The Little Match Girl.

Edna Hart

A poor little girl was wondering in the dark cold streets.

W. Heath Robinson

It was so terribly cold.

Helen Stratton

A poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet.

Hans Tegner

She carried a lot of matches in an old apron and a box of them in her hand.

Jennie Harbour

Hungry and shivering, she went along, poor little thing, a picture of misery.

Charles Robinson

She sat down and huddled herself together.

A. Gaskin

She had drawn her little feet under her, but felt colder than ever.

Helen Stratton

Whist! How it shed sparks and how it burned! It gave out a warm, bright flame, like a little candle.

Jennie Harbour

Where the light fell upon the wall it became transparent.

Edna F. Hart

The goose jumped from the dish with the knife and fork in its back.

Hans Tegner

Goose hopped down from the dish and, with a knife and fork sticking in its breast, came waddling across the floor.

Charles Robinson

And there she was sitting under the beautiful Christmas tree.

Jennie