The Sandman: And Other Weird Tales

by E.T.A. Hoffmann, J.T. Bealby (Translator), Frederic H. Hedge (Translator)

3 uncanny tales from “the godfather of modern horror and fantasy” (New York Review of Books) full of doppelgangers, unfulfillable desire, irony, and menace.

A deluxe collectible gift paperback featuring stunning sprayed edges and a beautiful art deco design!

Still celebrated as the foundational texts of modern fantasy and horror, these 3 unsettling tales of nightmares, madness, and otherworldly power represent renowned German author E.T.A. Hoffmann at his very best.

In “The Sandman”, young Nathanael grows up terrified of a legendary figure who will steal his eyes if he's caught out of bed at night - but it's only when Nathanael has grown to adulthood, seemingly settled and happy, that the full, terrifying truth unfolds. A living doll, a series of doppelgangers, and the seeds of madness combine in this classic story of self-destruction.

This obsession returns in “The Cremona Violin,” where suppressed passion and possessive control prove a fatal mix as an overbearing father grapples with his musically talented daughter who could die of heart failure if she unleashes the full power of her extraordinary voice.

The collection concludes with Hoffman’s arguable masterpiece, “The Golden Pot,” a novella-length tale, disturbing, exciting, and dream-like that introduces the bumbling Anselmus, whose romantic tribulations are complicated by a witch's curse and the fact that he's in love with a girl who also happens to be a snake.

Inspiring countless unearthly classics, from The Nutcracker to the works of Poe and Kafka, Hoffmann's doppelgangers, unattainable love objects, and sinister puppet masters have lived on, becoming key figures in the modern imagination.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Classics

208 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2026

About the author

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. His stories form the basis of Jacques Offenbach's famous opera The Tales of Hoffmann, in which Hoffman appears (heavily fictionalized) as the hero. He is also the author of the novella The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, on which the famous ballet The Nutcracker is based. The ballet Coppélia is based on two other stories that Hoffmann wrote, while Schumann's Kreisleriana is based on Hoffmann's character Johannes Kreisler.

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

Reviews

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are three of Hoffmann's most famous stories outside of The Nutcracker in this curated selection from Steerforth & Pushkin.

The Sandman, The Golden Pot, and The Cremona Violin are laced with absurdity and come in several flavours; from comically fantastical adventures to nightmarish descents into madness. There's a theme for every mood.

The Sandman, as well as being the featured tale, is also by far the superior story in this collection. Remarkable for such a dark and sinister take on a well-known European figure from folklore, Hoffmann delights in torturing the main character to such a degree that he can no longer distinguish fantasy from reality. It is a classic story with unsettling imagery and a must-read for any lovers of gothic horror.

While The Sandman is the main event, so to speak, The Golden Pot and The Cremona Violin are more than worthy entries and complement the title story perfectly.

Where The Golden Pot sparkles with magical adventure and a writing style ahead of its time, The Cremona Violin takes a quieter, more melancholy turn, offering a study in the tension between artistic devotion and domestic life, with tragic consequences.

All in all, this collection is an excellent starting point for anyone looking to give the author a try.

With thanks to Steerforth and Pushkin for the ARC

[Gregor Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC Review - The Sandman and Other Weird Tales by ETA Hoffman
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unfortunately this didn’t grip me as I thought it would, but I can’t ignore the beautiful prose that still made it worth reading.

This was written a couple of hundred years ago and has been translated from German, but that was not my main issue.

I just struggled to focus for any length of time and wasn’t gripped. I really hope others pick it up and love it, and I might go back to it someday with the hope that I just can’t in the right frame of mind.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read more classics this year so when I saw this ARC and that it was a collection of short stories it was perfect! I really loved this collection, the stories were creepy and wierd and I appreciated the footnotes along the way. Recommend for anyone that lives a collection of stories, wanting a starting point into some classics but also like the wierd.

Thank you NetGalley and Steerfoth & Pushkin for the ARC for review!

[Lili Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first introduction to E.T.A. Hoffmann. Knowing these stories were written in the early 1800s adds to the ambiance of the tales included. We are inundated with so many examples of shock-value horror that it's nice to see a step back in time and read some short tales in flowing prose. It's a quick couple stories to read and I recommend the exposure. Thank-you, Steerforth and Pushkin for this complimentary copy. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

[Keyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really glad that I finally sat down and read some stories by Hoffmann, especially the Sandman, which I've been meaning to do so in a while. There's a lot of great bits: I like the scene with Olympia the robot, and how Nathanael thinks her silence is just her being agreeable to all his ramblings. The other stories were alright. I don't know if it was a translation thing, or just his writing style, but the prose didn't really work for me and was distractingly overdone.

Thank you to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

[nephifiend · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read Hoffman for a while now but never see his collections anywhere, so I was very excited to have found this. A nice mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and the uncanny. The personal, sort of confidential tone that he takes in some stories made me think of Lemony Snicket! There's only three stories in this collection so it's a good introduction (I'll be planning on tracking down more of his stories).

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read stories by Hoffmann before and his writing style just isn't for me, it's way too flowery for my tastes.

I liked the overall plot of the stories in this collection, but I have to admit so skimming over several pages because the language was too descriptive for me.

[Kandace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been trying to read more classics, some I’ve enjoyed. others not at all. some to an extent.
this one was good. i found it a lil hard to read and stay focused on it, unfortunately. The writing is absolutely beautiful, though.

[onplanetsoph · Rating 3 out of 5]

another really good horror novela series, but with god awful formatting. a shame