About the Authors
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.
Patrick
Tull (1941–2006), born in the United Kingdom, was a multitalented actor of the stage, screen, and
television, as well as an award-winning audiobook narrator. He acted in
numerous American television shows from 1962 to 1996, including Crossroads, and he had roles in six Broadway plays between 1967 and
1992, including Amadeus. His film credits
from 1969 to 1996 included roles as Cecil in Parting Glances and Jerry the bartender in Sleepers. He served as narrator for the television series Sea Tales. He narrated nearly forty audiobooks,
and his readings of The Canterbury Tales,
The Letter of Marque, Monk’s Hood, The Vicar of Wakefield, and
How Green Was My Valley each earned
him an AudioFile Earphones Award. His narration of Patrick O’Brian’s
Aubrey/Maturin novels was praised by novelist Stephen King as among his ten favorite
audiobooks of 2006.
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was a German philologist, jurist, and mythologist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm’s law (linguistics), the co-author with his brother Wilhelm of the monumental Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie and, more popularly, as one of the Brothers Grimm and the editor of Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
George Zarr is an award-winning audio dramatist currently based in Chicago. He is the producer, writer, director, and composer of the Hans Christian Andersen musical The Bell, the four-part comedy Hurry! Hurry! It’s Almost Christmas, the mystery collection Dark of the Moon Inn, and the Western comedy musical serial Hoofbeats in My Heart, all four available from Blackstone Publishing.
Clement Clarke Moore (1779–1863) was an American professor of oriental and Greek literature, as well as divinity and biblical learning, at the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in New York City. He is the author of the yuletide poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” which became famous as “The Night before Christmas.”
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.
About a full cast
R. F. Daley is an actor, voice-over artist, and audiobook narrator. His television credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bones, Dexter, The Office, Arrested Development, Boston Public, and Spin City, among many others. He has narrated numerous audiobooks by L. Ron Hubbard and was the voice of the military adviser in the video game Civilization V.