It could’ve been the start of a strong friendship between two of history’s most brilliant authors. It wasn’t.

When Hans Christian Andersen invited himself to stay at Charles Dickens’ house, Dickens was too polite to say no, and besides, maybe it’d be pleasant having him around the house for a few weeks. It wasn’t. Andersen wore out his welcome the same day he arrived, made everyone he encountered uncomfortable, extended his stay, ruined a marriage, and destroyed his relationship with Dickens. He was more of a pest than a guest. 

Skip straight to the story: approx 6:26

Jacob shares the story with Sean Szeps

Follow Sean on Instagram @seanszeps

We recommend listening to his episode of 'Come Out Wherever You Are' with Casey Dellacqua https://link.chtbl.com/p-Ylga_1 

We give you just the gist, but if you want more, there's this: 

https://lithub.com/charles-dickens-really-really-hated-his-fanboy-hans-christian-andersen/ 

https://www.grunge.com/617197/the-truth-about-hans-christian-andersen-and-charles-dickens-friendship/ 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/10/charles-dickens-hans-christian-andersen-letters-correspondence-auction 

https://dickensmuseum.com/blogs/charles-dickens-museum/hans-christian-andersen-the-eccentric-guest 

https://historianandrew.medium.com/the-famous-phobic-chronic-masturbating-author-who-wouldnt-leave-charles-dickens-house-aa3c937a80a0  

Read the tweets that got Jacob interested in the story https://twitter.com/danaschwartzzz/status/1570824733444415488 

Follow us on Insta: @justthegistpodcast

Send us your suGISTions for stories and guests: [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.