The Nutcracker (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels) - Softcover

Hoffmann, E. T. A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486826643 ISBN 13: 9780486826646

Publisher: Dover Publications, 2018

Synopsis

This 1816 story is perhaps best known as the basis for Tchaikovsky's popular ballet, but Hoffmann's holiday legend is where the spell begins. Here is the original tale of seven-year-old Marie and her beloved Nutcracker, beset by a dark mystery that surrounds this story within a story.
Godpapa Drosselmeier, who once served as the royal court's inventor, recounts to Marie a tale of the trickery of Dame Mouserink, the Queen of Mice. The vengeful queen casts a curse on an innocent princess, forcing Drosselmeier to undertake an arduous quest to break the spell. His mixed success leads to the lasting enmity between the Nutcracker and seven-headed Mouse-King — Dame Mouserink's son — a conflict that only Marie can help resolve.
One of the world's greatest fantasy writers and a major figure in late German Romanticism, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776–1822) created extraordinary works of poetry and supernatural fiction. In tales like The Nutcracker, Hoffmann's characters come to vivid life in settings that move from the firm ground of reality to a world of enchantment, mystery, and romance.

About this title

About the Author:

Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776–1822) replaced his third name, Wilhelm, with Amadeus in homage to Mozart. A towering figure of German Romanticism, Hoffmann was a composer, music critic, theater director, draftsman, and caricaturist as well as a writer. Although his stories challenged readers to free their minds from the conventions of reality, Hoffmann accepted the practical constraints of everyday life, training as a lawyer and serving as a judge.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0486826643
• ISBN 13: 9780486826646
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 80