Even as a child, Hans Andersen plans to be famous. This appears improbable for a big, awkward, impudent boy with no patience for school or the usual pastimes of children. In his youth, a fortuneteller predicts that Hans will be "a wild bird who shall fly high, great and noble in the world." Remarkably, just as his ugly duckling grows to be a beautiful swan, so Hans lives to fulfill this prophecy. Eventually, he makes many loyal friends, and the support and constructive criticism he receives from them leads to Hans's great success as a writer.

Before the elder Hans dies, he exhorts Anne Marie to let the boy do as he pleases, and she does. What Hans wants most is to be set free: free to pursue a career in the theater. Hans hopes to one day be revered as an actor or...