E.T.A. Hoffmann

Author profile

born

January 24, 1776 in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany

died

June 25, 1822

gender

male

genre

Horror, Fantasy

About this author

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Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann, better known by his pen name E.T.A. Hoffmann (Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann), was a German Romantic author of fantasy and horror, a jurist, composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist. He is the subject and hero of Jacques Offenbach's famous but fictional opera The Tales of Hoffmann, and the author of the novelette The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, on which the famous ballet The Nutcracker is based. The ballet Coppelia is based on two other stories that Hoffmann wrote.

Hoffmann's stories were very influential during the 19th century, and he is one of the major authors of the Romantic movement.

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Books by E.T.A. Hoffmann

Average rating: 3.95 · 5,068 ratings · 306 reviews · 209 distinct works

	Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Maurice Sendak (Illustrator), Ralph Manheim (Translator) 4.12 avg rating — 1,928 ratings — published 1816 — 111 editions	My rating:
	Der Sandmann 3.66 avg rating — 735 ratings — published 1816 — 19 editions	My rating:
	Tales of Hoffmann by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Stella Humphries, Vernon Humphries 4.09 avg rating — 412 ratings — published 1932 — 18 editions	My rating:
	Das Fräulein von Scuderi (Reclam Universal-Bibliothek, Nr. 25) 3.41 avg rating — 229 ratings — published 1819 — 26 editions	My rating:
	The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Anthea Bell (Translator), Jeremy Adler (Introduction) 4.02 avg rating — 178 ratings — published 1820 — 19 editions	My rating:
	The Golden Pot and Other Tales by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Ritchie Robertson 3.93 avg rating — 134 ratings — published 1814 — 5 editions	My rating:
	The Devil's Elixirs by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Ian Sumter 3.99 avg rating — 223 ratings — published 1815 — 46 editions	My rating:
	Der Goldne Topf 3.65 avg rating — 150 ratings — 28 editions	My rating:
	The Sand-Man and Other Stories 3.96 avg rating — 82 ratings — published 1817 — 7 editions	My rating:
	Nutcracker and Mouse King and The Tale of the Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Alexandre Dumas, Jack Zipes (Introduction) 3.58 avg rating — 81 ratings — published 2007 — 5 editions	My rating:

More books by E.T.A. Hoffmann…

Quotes by E.T.A. Hoffmann

“Why should not a writer be permitted to make use of the levers of fear, terror and horror because some feeble soul here and there finds it more than it can bear? Shall there be no strong meat at table because there happen to be some guests there whose stomachs are weak, or who have spoiled their own digestions?”
― E.T.A. Hoffmann

tags: horror , supernatural

7 people liked it

“So stark ist der Zauber der Musik und, immer mächtiger werdend, musste er jede Fessel einer andern Kunst zerreißen."

(Beethovens Instrumentalmusik)”
― E.T.A. Hoffmann, E. T. A. Hoffmann's Musical Writings: Kreisleriana; The Poet and the Composer; Music Criticism

tags: music , power-of-music

4 people liked it

“None but a poet can understand a poet; none but a romantic spirit transported with poetry and consecrated in the Holy of Holies an comprehend what the ordained utters out of his inspiration.”
― E.T.A. Hoffmann

3 people liked it

See all E.T.A. Hoffmann's quotes »

Polls

Choose the book for December '10?

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

11 votes 34.4%

Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

4 votes 12.5%

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

4 votes 12.5%

Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris

3 votes 9.4%

Count Karlstein by Philip Pullman

3 votes 9.4%

Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival by Joe Simpson

3 votes 9.4%

Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton's Polar-Bound Cat by Caroline Alexander

1 vote 3.1%

The Christmas Cookie Club: A Novel by Ann Pearlman

1 vote 3.1%

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King - in Russian language by E.T.A. Hoffmann

1 vote 3.1%

Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley

1 vote 3.1%

The Birthday Boys by Beryl Bainbridge

0 votes 0.0%

32 total votes

1 comment

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E.T.A. Hoffmann

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by E.T.A. Hoffmann

Quotes by E.T.A. Hoffmann

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Books by E.T.A. Hoffmann