The Unwritten Song

Hans Christian Andersen enchanted millions with tales of mermaids, ugly ducklings, and steadfast tin soldiers. Yet behind every fairy tale lay a secret: a lifetime of forbidden love — for the men who captivated his heart and could never love him back.

'The Unwritten Song' traces Andersen's passionate, unrequited devotion to Edvard Collin, his intimate bond with the Grand Duke Carl Alexander of Weimar, and his late obsession with the young dancer Harald Scharff.

From the poverty of Odense to the salons of Copenhagen and the sunlit streets of Rome, this sweeping novel reveals the hidden anguish behind the world's most famous fairy tales.