Hans Christian Andersen's visit to Charles Dickens finally came in March 1857. Andersen was supposed to stay for two weeks but extended his stay to five weeks. It wasn't the best time in the Dickens household as the author was busy working on a play and contemplating on divorcing his wife. Andersen's arrival added more weight to the situation, and as Lit Hub stated, it began as soon as the Danish author set foot in Dickens' home when he requested one of Dickens' sons to shave him on a daily basis — a custom performed by hosts to male guests in Denmark. Dickens found the practice unusual and scheduled a daily shave for his guest at a barbershop instead.
Andersen also often wept, in one instance crying loudly while watching Dickens perform in a play. He also broke down on the Dickens' front lawn after getting a bad review for one of his works. Charles Dickens was not fond of his guest and even poked fun at how Andersen spoke, writing, "He spoke French like Peter the Wild Boy and English like the Deaf and Dumb School," per The Guardian. By the end of five weeks, the Dickens family was relieved to see their guest go. In the mirror of the guest room where Andersen stayed, Dickens wrote, "Hans Andersen slept in this room for five weeks — which seemed to the family AGES!"
