Five Tales of Love

Five Tales of Love brings together some of Hans Christian Andersen’s most enduring stories — Thumbelina, The Tinderbox, The Little Mermaid, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, and The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep. Each of them speaks about love in a different register: quiet devotion, reckless passion, longing, loyalty, sacrifice. In Andersen’s world, love is rarely simple — but it is always transformative.

This edition is illustrated by Dmitry Trubin (b. 1961), a Russian painter and graphic artist from Arkhangelsk. Known for his expressive drawing and tactile, layered technique, Trubin approaches classical texts without reverence or sentimentality. He does not decorate the story, he enters into dialogue with it.

For this book he has created bold, unexpected interpretations of Andersen’s characters. His figures are slightly off-center, alive, sometimes ironic, sometimes vulnerable. The familiar tales gain new tension and emotional depth. These illustrations reinterpret the text, giving the stories a sharper edge and a contemporary pulse.

The result is a book that invites readers to look again at stories they thought they knew and to see them differently.