I had not read The Story of a Mother or The Travelling Companion before and I highly recommend them. There's a really good twist to the latter. I first came across Hans Christen Andersen's wonderful tales in The Reader's Digest Complete Fairytales Collection (which is a two volume set). I still have these books but the spines have been taped together and I couldn't tell you how often I read these. The colour illustrations are marvellous two and The Little Match Girl is particularly haunting, both for its story and its picture.
One thing I like about Andersen's work is its variety. Not all of his tales have a happy ending (or what we would consider as one. See The Little Mermaid especially for this). This reflects life. I believe it reflects his life. But his simplicity of language and ability to appeal to all ages over time is amazing. My favourite tale of his remains The Ugly Duckling. Anyone with any experience of being bullied or of feeling they are different and misunderstood will identify with this tale.
The course lasts for six weeks and I hope to say more about it as it goes on but so far it is fascinating stuff and I am enjoying joining in with the online discussions. This is the first online course I've ever taken but this one, all about fairytales, really did have my name on it!