Advent Calendar: 19 December – Snow Queen
Illustration of the Snow Queen from Andrew Lang’s The Pink Fairy Book published in 1897 (Lan PZ8.L2P5). The original fairy tale of the Snow Queen was written by Hans Christian Anderson, first published in 1844, and tells the story of Gerda and her quest to save her friend Kai (or Kay) from the Snow Queen.
Andrew Lang (1844-1912), a graduate of St Andrews, was an historian, essayist, folklorist and most well-known for his coloured fairy books. Most of his fairy books were illustrated by Henry Justice Ford (1860–1941), an English artist and illustrator. The stories in this book were translated into English by W A Craigie, L B Lang and A Alleyne.