The foundation of the development of the modern science of narrative texts – narratology - has to a great extent been the folktale and the fairy tale. This book directs the narratological focus towards another tale-genre, namely the literary imitation of the folktale known as the art Märchen in its undoubtedly most famous expression: The short stories of the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen.

By putting themselves under the double obligation of the theory of narrative and the tales of Hans Christian Andersen, the articles collected in this volume both open for new readings of Andersen’s stories and throw new light on narratology through the exploration of his highly complex tales. Among the topics treated are Andersen's narrational techniques, his use of metafictional comments and irony, his tales considered in the perspectives of Possible World Theory, genre, and ethics, and many more.

The book contains contributions from Greger Andersson (Örebro University), Jacob Bøggild (University of Aarhus), Marion Gymnich (Justus-Liebig-University Giessen), Per Krogh Hansen (University of Southern Denmark), Jørgen Holmgaard (Aalborg University), Jørgen Dines Johansen (University of Southern Denmark),  Henrik Lassen (University of Southern Denmark), Gorm Larsen (University of Copenhagen), Marianne Wolff Lundholt (University of Southern Denmark), Johan de Mylius (University of Southern Denmark), Ansgar Nünning (Justus-Liebig-University Giessen), Vera Nünning (Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg) and Lars-Åke Skalin (University of Örebro).