Books

The True Story of My Life by Hans Christian Andersen (1847)

In this autobiography, Hans Christian Andersen recounts his life and literary career in Copenhagen. Raised by two working-class parents in Odense, Denmark, Andersen moved to Copenhagen in 1819 at just 14 years old. There, he pursued singing, acting, and ballet before writing his famous fairy tales like The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (1989)

For readers as young as nine years old, this Newbery-Award winning book tells of a Nazi-invaded Denmark in the year 1943 and how ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her family help smuggle Annemarie's best friend, Ellen Rosen, and her family, to safety.

Copenhagen by Michael Frayn (1998)

This Tony-Award winning play, based on real events, takes place in German-occupied Copenhagen in 1941 and recounts the private meeting between physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg—a meeting that remains a source of debate for historians.

The Quiet Girl by Peter Hoeg (2007)

In this novel rich with magical overtones, a major earthquake brings on a devastating flood that submerges a portion of Copenhagen. Meanwhile, a famous clown known as Kasper Krone will be deported for not paying his taxes, that is until a top-secret government agency promises to drop the charges if he helps them locate a young girl, KlaraMaria, a former student of Krone's who shares his psychic abilities and is lost in the natural disaster.