Storyteller

Hans Christian Andersen died on this day in 1875. He was 70 years-old. He'd gone to live with some friends on the coast of Denmark. On the morning he died he was served breakfast in bed, but was found a little while later, still in bed. In his hand was a love letter that had been written to him 45 years before. Like so many of his stories, his own life ended ironically and unrequited. Hans Christian Andersen appears five times in A Book of Ages.

Hans Christian Andersen, Casanova and Morse Code

Hans Christian Andersen was born on this date in 1805 and Giacomo Casanova in 1725. Andersen, the beloved and peculiar author of fairy tales, appears in A Book of Ages at ages 14, 17, 33, 39 and 70. Casanova (swordsman, rake and memoirist) appears at ages 11, 16, 30, 49, 56 and finally at age 60, when he retires to become a librarian. (True, actually. He was also a bibliophile.)

The inventor of the telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse, died on this day in 1872. Morse was a remarkable artist, a professor and a rather deplorable politician before he got around to inventing instant communication. He appears at ages 20, 41, 46, 50, 53 and 80 in A Book of Ages.

A Book of Ages is a perfect birthday gift for any memoirist, bibliophile, swordsman or budding inventor.