H.C. Andersen og den skæve skygge

Hastrup has Andersen and his shadow go through the great storyteller's life from beginning to end. It is all there: the hardships, including his learning to cope with fear; the guiding light of a loving mother; the thwarted early ambition of becoming a ballet dancer; the inevitable unrequited love, the sexual dreaming; and the rewards and temptations of fame and travel. In short, the stuff and substance of Andersen's entire life and literary oeuvre. The relentless presence of The Shadow finds its happy counterpoints in the merging into the action of beloved Andersen creations as, in particular, the Ugly Duckling, destined for proudest swanhood.