I am a sucker for The Little Mermaid, the story and the Disney movies. It's one of those books that I collect multiple copies of (like Little Women and Peter Pan) because I love how it has been illustrated in so many different ways. I don't remember how I stumbled onto this rendition, but as soon as I saw these vivid, glossy, rich pictures I knew I'd be buying it.
With her bobbed hairstyle and the symetrical coral decorations, it reminded me of an art deco poster featuring a flapper:
The text is the original Hans Christian Andersen tale, whch already contains themes of mortality, and the picture of a mermaid (one of her sisters) embracing a skeleton (from a shipwreck) perfectly depicts them.
The illustrations bounce between classic of illustration, that might be found in any fairytale book to highly stylized ones with almost neon-bright pops of color
There is also some back matter that contains information about Andersen, and his own tragic love stor; he had an unrequited love for a friend, Edvard Collin. Collin remained a friend even knowing of Andersen's feelings towards him, but he could not, and did not, reciprocate his affection.
When Collin married in 1836, it is widely believed that it inspired Andersen to pen The Little Mermaid, which was published the following year.
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