Note: The University of Adelaide Library eBooks @ Adelaide.

This early work by E. T. A. Hoffmann was originally published in 1820. Born in Königsberg, East Prussia in 1776, Hoffmann's family were all jurists, and during his youth he was initially encouraged to pursue a career in law. However, in his late teens Hoffman became increasingly interested in literature and philosophy, and spent much of his time reading German classicists and attending lectures by, amongst others, Immanuel Kant. Hoffman went on to produce a great range of both literary and musical works. Probably Hoffman's most well-known story, produced in 1816, is 'The Nutcracker and the Mouse King', due to the fact that - some seventy-six years later - it inspired Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker. In the same vein, his story 'The Sandman' provided both the inspiration for Léo Delibes's ballet Coppélia, and the basis for a highly influential essay by Sigmund Freud, called 'The Uncanny'. (Indeed, Freud referred to Hoffman as the "unrivalled master of the uncanny in literature.") Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions.

Ten of Hoffmann's greatest tales, enormously popular in Europe but rarely seen in the United States: "The Golden Flower Pot," "Automata," "Nutcracker and the King of Mice," "The Sand Man," and 6 others.

Hoffman's "Weird Tales" is a brilliant collection of his best works, including the world-known stories like "Mademoiselle De Scuderi," "The Nutcracker and The Mouse King," and also one of the first horror stories in the romantic literature "The Sandman." Hoffman's protagonists are romantic and brave representatives of the epoch. He writes about artists, musicians, poets, and also noble people of trade. His characters live in the era when men fight on duels and women faint to stress their fragility. The range of his characters is stunning. It includes the lady detective Mademoiselle De Scuderi, a mysterious Sandman who steals the eyes of those who don't want to go to bed, and an opera singer Signor Formica. Each of the presented stories has a unique character and belongs to the most valuable pieces of the world's literature that never cease to be topical, intriguing, captivating, and inspiring. _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_