His upbringing was unlikely to produce a writer with an international reputation. His education was limited and traumatic. But Hans Christian Andersen became known throughout Europe for stories such as The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Snow Queen. How was he able to turn simple ideas into stories for the ages? And were those stories, so popular in Disney films, really for children? Andersen expert Scott Mellor will tell us about the breaks, good and bad, that elevated Andersen to the ranks of celebrated authors.