in copenhagen, andersen worked hard to become a successful writer. he introduced himself to the best-known writers of his day and to others he thought might help him. he was a strange-looking boy: tall,thin,and awkward, with small eyes, a large nose, and a sad expression. some people felt sorry for him. others were impressedby his desperate desire to become a gerat writer. he got a job at the royal theatre ans, at the same time, he went back to school since he had never finished school in odense. then, at the age of twenty-one, he published a poem that became very popular. that first taste of public attention made him want more. for the rest of his life, he wrote and wrote without stopping, always hoping to become famous. in all, he wrote thirty-six works for theater, six travel books, six novels, hundreds of poems, and about 170 stories and fairy tales. some of his novels and plays enjoyed brief success, but the critics often did not like them. only the fairy tales were immediately recognized as entirely original works of art.