The Visit

The year is 1857. Charles Dickens had invited Hans Christian Andersen to come and stay with him anytime. Andersen, known for his spontaneity, suddenly turned up almost without warning and a very poor grasp of the English language 10 years later. There follows a whole string of gaffs, misunderstandings and odd adventures with a cast of colourful characters. The man who came to visit for a few days finally left for Denmark after six weeks leaving in his wake a family divided and nervous breakdowns on both sides. Andersen coined the phrase “To travel is to live.” Dickens might have been inspired by his visit to write his famous line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”