Old House, The, Hans Christian Andersen
Old House, The, Hans Christian Andersen
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Old House, The

Author: Hans Christian Andersen

Narrator: Emma Fenney

Unabridged: 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/24/2018


Synopsis

In The Old House, a boy is invited to meet the old man across the street and offers him a gift of a toy soldier. The toy soldier, unhappy with his new surroundings, flings himself through a hole in the floor and disappears. After the old man dies, the old house is torn down, and a new one is built, but the toy soldier remains to be rediscovered.

About Hans Christian Andersen

Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) originally trained as a singer and actor, but he gained fame with his fairy tales, which were not meant merely for children but for adults as well. Andersen frequently used a colloquial style that disguises the sophisticated moral teachings of his tales. Many of Andersen's fairy tales depict characters who gain happiness in life after suffering and enduring conflicts. "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Little Mermaid" are Andersen's most intimate works. A playwright and novelist as well as the author of children's tales, Andersen publications include the novels The Improvisatore and Only a Fiddler, as well as his personal memoirs, The Fairy Tale of My Life.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Abigail on January 23, 2019

A young boy, observing that his elderly neighbor is lonely, sends one of his tin soldiers as a gift, receiving an invitation to the "Old House" in return. So begins a touching, but short-lived friendship, one that will return to the boy many years later, long after the old man and his old house have......more

Goodreads review by Vaishali on June 20, 2016

"Very, very lonely," said the pewter soldier. "But it is delightful not to be forgotten." Oh, the passage of time... :(......more

Goodreads review by K. Anna on March 27, 2023

I have arranged my takeaway thoughts on this short story into a haiku: "Living among thoughts, Weak souls are stunned, crushed by weight The body can’t feel."......more

Goodreads review by Kevin on September 10, 2017

Moving, bittersweet tale of loneliness, growing old, and the pernicious power of memory.......more

Goodreads review by Alvaro_atm92 on March 14, 2022

This one was sad D:......more