THE last few years have seen European diplomats in Manila increasingly turning to literature to strengthen cultural ties between the Philippines and their respective countries. Their flourishing partnerships with local authors and publishers have resulted in books that offered both Filipino and European readers a wider window into each other’s world.

The latest of these books is Hans Christian Andersen and Jose Rizal: From Denmark to the Philippines, launched by Anvil Publishing Inc. and the Embassy of Denmark in Manila at Instituto Cervantes’ Caza Azul branch in Intramuros, Manila in late September. Edited by Danish Ambassador Jan Top Christensen, the book collects five of Andersen’s tales in English — “The Fir Tree,” “Thumbelina,” “The Ugly Duckling,” “The Angel” and “The Little Match Girl” — and Rizal’s Tagalog translations of them.