Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, in 1805. His Fairy Tales, the first children's stories of their kind, which were published in instalments from 1835 until his death in 1875, have been translated into more than a hundred languages and adapted for every kind of media.

German folklorists Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were among the first collectors of fairy tales, and their 19th-century compilations established the enduring fame of such oral traditions as "Cinderella," "Rumpelstiltskin," "Sleeping Beauty," and scores of other beloved stories.