Being a rather vain man, he complained in "the Fairy Tale of My Life," one of three autobiographies he wrote, that people were not interested in his "serious" writing.

安徒生是个颇为自命不凡的人，在他所著的三本自传之一的《我童话般的人生》一书中，他抱怨人们对他“严肃”的作品不感兴趣。