The story of a conquering prince who aspires to overthrow God and is driven mad for his grandiosity, it has been analysed for its representation of technology and as an early work of science fiction.
The Wicked Prince was written by Hans Christian Andersen and first published in October 1840 under the Danish title Den onde Fyrste,[1] in Salonen, et belletristik Maanedsskrift (Salon: A Belles-lettres Monthly).
The bibliographer Erik Dal [Wikidata], describing the story as an "uncanny fantasy", recorded that its plot device of a flying dirigible predated the first successful real-world attempt by twelve years.
[3] In an analysis of the emotional content of fairy tales, it was one of four works by Andersen selected, alongside The Emperor's New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea, and The Little Match Girl.
[4] The story has been studied as a work of science fiction,[5] for the role that insects play in the narrative,[6] and as a metaphor for dictatorships, including through the publication of editions during the World War II Nazi occupation of Denmark comparing the prince to Adolf Hitler.