The Emperor's New Clothes

by Hans Christian Andersen

Overview

In The Emperor's New Clothes, two weavers tell the emperor that they can make him a new suit of clothes that is invisible to people who are unfit for their positions or who are stupid or incompetent. Con men, the two weavers actually outfit the emperor in nothing, but will anyone be willing to tell the emperor that he is naked? As an idiom, the story's title refers to things that are accepted as common knowledge in spite of being obviously untrue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781974995387
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	9
File size:	491 KB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish writer who wrote prolifically in many genres but specialized in fairy tales. His stories, including The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, and The Snow Queen, have been translated into more than 125 languages and have inspired many adaptations.

Date of Birth:

April 2, 1805

Date of Death:

August 4, 1875

Place of Birth:

Odense, Denmark

Place of Death:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Editorial Reviews

John Alfred Rowe (Monkey Trouble) takes his accomplished paintbrush to Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes. The rosy cheeked, rotund potentate is attended to by an elite troupe of mime-ish monkeys, their noses as high as their yellow bowties; the hucksters are depicted as roguish foxes with a pirate-like patch and swagger. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

In a starred review, PW called this a "witty new edition, set in 1913. The emperor's pursuit of fashion becomes such frivolous fun that he is quite a likable fool especially when his tan lines are showing." Ages 6-9. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

From Lewis (The Steadfast Tin Soldier, 1992, etc.), a plucky new treatment of the familiar tale. Here the emperor, everyone's favorite sartorial obsessive, is a preWW I dandy, but he is the same chump as always, duped by the two prankster weavers. Their cloth, "invisible to anyone who was unfit for his job or particularly stupid," has all the court's self-important retainers and grandees in a swivet: They can't see the cloth but dare not admit it in fear of being branded an incompetent or a fool. The ruse goes all the way to the top, to the emperor's self-doubts and conventionality, and his absurd procession: When exposed for the clown he is by a child's shout, the emperor remains calm" `If I stop, it will spoil the procession. And that would never do.' So on he stepped, even more proudly than before." The translation is fine and sure, and Barrett's artwork is splendid, full of lively vignettes and early-20th-century details, complete with a company of wise dogs and the impeccably expressive faces of bystanders.

Kirkus Reviews