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Charles Dickens bumped into Danish writer, Hans Christian Andersen, at a party in the summer of 1847. Andersen was thrilled at meeting his hero, and Dickens’ quintessential British politeness was interpreted as mutual admiration and friendship.
Andersen would begin sending Dickens fan mail (packages of books, letters, etc) for the next nine years. Dickens once mentioned that if Andersen were ever in London, that he should come and visit – never expecting the Dane to show. When Andersen appeared at the Dickens family’s home, it kicked off what was supposed to be 2, but turned into 5 hellish weeks of awkward interactions… all of which Dickens cataloged (and many suspect, used as inspiration for one of his more fiendish characters).
At one point, Dickens rose from the dinner table, extending his elbow to escourt one if the ladies present from the dining room. Andersen rushed forward and place his arm through Dicken’s. Odd.
He wrote: “My visit is for you alone… Above all, always leave me a small corner in your heart.” How could Charles not find this borderline romantic obsession flattering? 😆
Dickens was performing a lead role in the play The Frozen Deep with Queen Victoria sitting in the audience watching his every move when Andersen began sobbing loudly from his box.
One of Andersen’s many unusual hobbies was “crafting”. He was constantly cutting up pieces of paper with scissors, leaving behind a terrific mess… all to fashion little flower nosegays.
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Anderson sounds creepy. Turning two weeks of visit into five is just called being a rude houseguest.
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Andersen was somewhat notoriously attracted to young men – so to make matters more awkward, he requested that Charles Dickens’ son shave him every morning.
Dickens was wise and instead had a barber come around every day to shave his house guest. 😬
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