Most Popular Books by E.T.A. Hoffmann

This book offers a long-awaited opportunity to assess the thought and influence of one of the most famous of all writers on music and the musical links with his fiction. Containing the first complete appearance in English of Kreisleriana, it reveals a masterpiece of imaginative writing and whose profound humour and irony can now be fully appreciated.

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King is a Christmas Classic written in 1816, by E. T. A. Hoffmann on which the famous ballet The Nutcracker is based. In the story young Marie Stahlbaum''s favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls. The story begins on Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum house. Marie, seven, and her brother, Fritz, eight, sit outside the parlor speculating about what kind of present their godfather, Drosselmeyer, who is a clockmaker and inventor, has made for them. They are at last allowed in, where they receive many splendid gifts... _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_

This selection of Hoffmann''s finest short stories vividly demonstrates his intense imagination and preoccupation with the supernatural, placing him at the forefront of both surrealism and the modern horror genre. Suspense dominates tales such as Mademoiselle de Scudery, in which an apprentice goldsmith and a female novelist find themselves caught up in a series of jewel thefts and murders. In the sinister Sandman, a young man''s sanity is tormented by fears about a mysterious chemist, while in The Choosing of a Bride a greedy father preys on the weaknesses of his daughter''s suitors. Master of the bizarre, Hoffman creates a sinister and unsettling world combining love and madness, black humour and bewildering illusion.

This is a collection of the 7 best short stories of one of the most innovative and influential fantasy and horror authors ever to have been published, E.T.A. Hoffmann. This selection specially chosen by the literary critic August Nemo, contains the following stories: The Golden PotThe SandmanCouncillor KrespelaAutomataThe Elementary SpiritThe Jesuits'' Church in G--The Story of the Hard NutHoffmann short stories have inspired great writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Jorge Luis Borges, among many others.

Councillor Krespel is an eccentric violin maker who lives with the mysterious Antonia. Considered to have the most beautiful singing voice the town has ever heard; she has only sung once in her life. Krespel is renowned for making the finest violins in the world, but never sells any and plays each violin he makes only once. What is the dark secret behind this odd couple’s behaviour? This classic short horror story was written by the famous German Romantic author E.T.A. Hoffmann and is perfect for fans of authors H.P. Lovecraft and Neil Gaiman. Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann (1776-1822), better known as E. T. A. Hoffmann, was a German Romantic author of fantasy and gothic horror. He was also a composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist. Hoffmann''s stories inspired several famous operatic composers, including Richard Wagner, Jacques Offenbach and Léo Delibes. He is also the author of the novella ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’, on which Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, ‘The Nutcracker’ is based. The story also inspired the film ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ (2018), starring Keira Knightley, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren.

‘Gambler’s Luck’ (1855) is a ‘weird tale’ written by the German romantic author E. T. A. Hoffmann, most famous for his novella ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’ (1816) which inspired Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘The Nutcracker’. A young German baron enjoys a lucky streak at the gambling tables and becomes addicted. One night, a stranger appears at the gambling table and tells the Baron an incredible tale... This classic short story is perfect for fans of horror and fantasy fiction and the authors H. P. Lovecraft and Neil Gaiman. Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann (1776-1822), better known as E. T. A. Hoffmann, was a German Romantic author of fantasy and gothic horror. He was also a composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist. Hoffmann''s stories inspired several famous operatic composers, including Richard Wagner, Jacques Offenbach and Léo Delibes. He is also the author of the novella ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’, on which Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, ‘The Nutcracker’ is based. The story also inspired the film ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ (2018), starring Keira Knightley, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren.

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (German: Nussknacker und Mausekönig) is a story written in 1816 by E. T. A. Hoffmann in which young Marie Stahlbaum''s favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls. E.T.A. Hoffmann, original name Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann (1776 — 1822), German writer, composer, and painter known for his stories in which supernatural and sinister characters move in and out of men''s lives, ironically revealing tragic or grotesque sides of human nature.

‘Master Martin, The Cooper, and His Journal’ (1885) is a ‘weird tale’ written by the German romantic author E. T. A. Hoffmann, most famous for his novella ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’ (1816) which inspired Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘The Nutcracker’. Johannes Wacht is orphaned at an early age and taken in by the town council’s master craftsman. But the carpenter''s death sends Johannes on a journey to Bamberg and a new life. This classic short story is perfect for fans of horror and fantasy fiction and the authors H. P. Lovecraft and Neil Gaiman. Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann (1776-1822), better known as E. T. A. Hoffmann, was a German romantic author of fantasy and gothic horror. He was also a composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist. Hoffmann''s stories inspired several famous operatic composers, including Richard Wagner, Jacques Offenbach and Léo Delibes. He is also the author of the novella ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’, on which Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, ‘The Nutcracker’ is based. The story also inspired the film ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ (2018), starring Keira Knightley, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren.

‘The Doge and Dogess’ (1885) is a ‘weird tale’ written by the German Romantic author E. T. A. Hoffmann, most famous for his novella ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’ (1816) which inspired Tchaikovsky’s opera ‘The Nutcracker’. This classic fantasy short story is perfect for fans of horror and fantasy fiction and the authors H. P. Lovecraft and Neil Gaiman. Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann (1776-1822), better known as E. T. A. Hoffmann, was a German Romantic author of fantasy and gothic horror. He was also a composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist. Hoffmann''s stories inspired several famous operatic composers, including Richard Wagner, Jacques Offenbach and Léo Delibes. He is also the author of the novella ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’, on which Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, ‘The Nutcracker’ is based. The story also inspired the film ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ (2018), starring Keira Knightley, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren.

Tomcat Murr is a loveable, self-taught animal who has written his own autobiography. But a printer''s error causes his story to be accidentally mixed and spliced with a book about the composer Johannes Kreisler. As the two versions break off and alternate at dramatic moments, two wildly different characters emerge from the confusion - Murr, the confident scholar, lover, carouser and brawler, and the moody, hypochondriac genius Kreisler. In his exuberant and bizarre novel, Hoffmann brilliantly evokes the fantastic, the ridiculous and the sublime within the humdrum bustle of daily life, making The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr (1820-22) one of the funniest and strangest novels of the nineteenth century.