The Sandman, The Nutcracker, and Other Dark Fairy Tales: The Best Weird Tales and Fantasies of E. T. A. Hoffmann

by E.T.A. Hoffmann, M. Grant Kellermeyer (Editor)

He was the godfather of modern horror, weird fiction, and fantasy, an inestimable influence on Poe, Dickens, and Hawthorne, de Maupassant, Stevenson, and James, left his fingerprints on “Frankenstein,” “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,” “Dracula,” and “The Turn of the Screw,” and inspired filmmakers from Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan to David Lynch and Fritz Lang (and films from “Dr. Caligari” and “Metropolis” to “The Matrix” and “Mulholland Drive”). Yet few horror fans have ever read his works. Many have never even heard his name. Today he is most famous for writing the dark fantasy that Tchaikovsky fluffed up into “The Nutcracker” and for his proto-Freudian masterpiece of existential terror, “The Sandman,” but his influence demands that we give E. T. A. Hoffmann a much closer look. An expert at blending the ordinary and the uncanny, his stories were some of the first to feature supernatural invaders in a contemporary setting. Unlike Perrault or the Grimms, his macabre fairy tales aren’t in a land “far, far away” or “once upon a time” – they take place in the sooty, bourgeois streets of his own time, and involve grotesque and often malformed agents of chaos piercing through the veil of the invisible world to introduce moral mayhem into the bland existence of bored daydreamers. In Hoffmann’s worlds, the “real” world is the fake one – like in “The Matrix” or “Alice in Wonderland” – a superficial façade distracting us from recognizing the wonders and horrors of true reality. Tremendously complex and literary, his gothic stories, dark fairy tales, and diabolical parables explore the relationships between reality and fantasy, reason and imagination, submission and inspiration, groundedness and sublimity, and spirituality and materiality. His stories include tales of castles haunted by family curses, toys brought to life, erotic robots, sinister salesmen with malevolent motives, demonic Doppelgangers, cannibalistic pregnant women, lustful gnomes, hypnotic seducers, sleepwalking ghosts, men without shadows or reflections, and expansive worlds hidden behind the drab exterior of the ordinary prefiguring Hogwarts, Narnia, Wonderland, and Oz. His tales are famous for their blend of horror and allure, of ugliness and beauty, of reality and imagination. The swirl with the vertigo of a rich grasp of fantasy, darkened with inappropriate lusts, repressed urges, and unconscious motives. Deeply psychological and profoundly philosophical, they will shock and offend, but they will also soothe and inspire. These are the Tales of Hoffmann.

Genres: Horror, Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories, German Literature, 19th Century

499 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2018

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

[Sacha Rosel · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the whole, Sandman really is a wonderful piece of writing, and you can see why many writers have fallen under its spell. A true masterpiece. Yet in my view the majority of the other works collected here - including The Nutcracker - feel a bit difficult to digest for our 21st-century sensibility, especially when it comes to some of the most typical leitmotifs chosen by Hoffmann, i.e. incest and paedophilia. More often than not, his stories involve a young male student madly falling in love with a girl who might either be a daughter-like figure or the object of a much older (and invariably Italian) man's lustful desires. Add a propensity for misogynistic comments and music and and you get an idea of what ETA Hoffmann's stories might be. Of course, one needs to see his work into perspective and take context into consideration, but still there are many disturbing elements which simply can't be denied. Perhaps the most disturbing thing, though, is the way the editor of this specific collection seems to justify any of these terrible traits because of the influence Hoffmann still has on so many writers.

[María · Rating 3 out of 5]

Calidad desigual, historias muy buenas y otras más mediocres. Aunque muy disfrutables.

3'5/5.

[Rachel Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok what?! I read this thinking I was reading the inspiration for the nutcracker ballet (which is true) but oh my god this horror fan couldn’t get enough of these short stories. Definitely feels like a cross between Grimms fairytales and Poe. I can see what he’s the godfather of more modern horror. Sandman is probably one of the best things I’ve read, hands down, across genres. It’s an absolute masterpiece. (I’ve also read Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comics so I appreciate the inspiration Gaiman drew as well). Out of the stories The Nutcracker was my least favorite, but even it was still well done and so much more macabre than the children’s fairy tale. So glad I read these! As I’ve mentioned in prior reviews, I don’t keep a lot of the books I read, but this one has earned a spot on my bookshelf!

[James Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a mixed bag. The Sandman is very cool though and I would let him feed my eyes to his children on the moon

[Lauren Bourke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are good, but I would skip over the Freudian heavy review included. I think it is a little bit of a stretch to apply Freudian interpretations to stories written by a romantic author 50 years before Freud was even born.

[Matilda Furness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read exactly this book, but a little collection of stories with The Nutcracker, The Sandman and The Mines at Falun. So strange stories! First time I read The Nutcracker, it must have inspired both Narnia (going through the wardrobe ) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the candy world. Funny and bizarre, the ending really strange 😅. Supposed to be romantic I guess but as Marie is only a child it's definitely strange! The Sandman was really strange and creepy. The Mines in Falun is set in Sweden, and I've been to the mine so that was an interesting read. I wonder if it's based on tales from the mine!

[sarahemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read exactly this book. The copy I had included The Nutcracker, The Sandman, and The Mines at Falun.
Starting with The Nutcracker:
I enjoyed reading this. It was nice to see where the ballet came from, and how it differs from the book. It was way darker than I was kind of expecting it to be, as well as shorter. The ballet has chosen to focus on details that were brushed over in the book. But it was still pretty good. 4/5

The Sandman:
Okay this was very dark. I didn't have any expectations of what this would be about, because I didn't actually know it was included in the book I bought. It was alright, but very, very dark. I didn't not enjoy it, but I do think that the men Hoffmann writes in his books are very melodramatic, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does get a little bit repetitive after a while, although I did like the way he kind of gradually, and then very quickly descends into absolute madness. I think the thing that bothers me the most is the way that Clara is portrayed throughout the story. She is described as essentially looking like a child, but very mature and quiet and sincere, so we have no real way of guessing how old she is. Which in my personal opinion, is a bit of a problem. Also, they have supposedly grown up together as if like siblings, but also have been in love with each other since they were young children. Which again, just makes me mildly uncomfortable. But aside from the issues I have with the writing of Clara and her storyline, I do like that she doesn't end up with the lead guy, and does presumably get a 'happily ever after'. 2/5

The Mines at Falun:
This one was also okay, not amazing but not bad either. Again, the lead male is very dramatic about literally everything, and once again we have a love interest who is described as a child who is very mature. I've already said my thoughts on that so I won't elaborate, but again, Ulla basically seems to live her life for the main guy. Like yeah she's around before him, but as soon as the guy shows up, we only see her as an object for him to love. Which is always going to annoy me. I feel like I maybe shouldn't be too harsh on the judging though given this was written in the 1800s, so it honestly checks out that that's how women were written. It does just ruin a lot of books for me unfortunately. I did like the overall storyline a little bit more in this one though, if we kind of ignore Ulla's storyline or lack thereof. 3/5

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous Set of Stories

Amazing set of short stories written by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Not only does this grouping of stories include the original tale in which Tchaikovsky used to formulate his ballet The Nutcracker, but the French composer Offenbach used three of these tales as the bases for one of his three act operas; one tale per act. His opera The Tales of Hoffmann used for the first act : Der Sandmann (The Sandman), second act : Rath Krespel (Councillor Krespel) and third act : Die Abenteuer der Silvester Nacht (A New Year's Eve Adventure). Very worthwhile reading and very recommended!!! As the book 'indicate'... the tales are on the weird and darkish side. When I FIRST read The Mouse King back when I was in college, I was somewhat taken aback by how DARK that story Is compared to the Christmasy Ballet treatment of the same tale that Tchaikovsky gave it. All these tales are really well crafted and are very recommended!!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have seen The Nutcracker ballet countless times so it was about time to finally read the story and it was great. I probably still prefer the ballet but that's probably because I have seen it so many times. The other two stories in the collection I read were good and very strange. I enjoyed it but probably won't be picking it up again any time soon.

[Alanseinfeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

(The Sandman) - This was an interesting tale. Pre-dating 'Frankenstein' by a couple of years and comparable in its ambition and importance. The language is vibrant and evocative and sets the scene very well. Not as dated as Frankenstein. Worth reading.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading if you're interested in the foundations of later writers working in "weird" and "dark" tales.

[Lovci na priče]

”Na Carlovu zvonu stajalo je E. T. A. Kollhoff. To je bila laž, ali samo polovična, jer je prezima bilo pravo. Carl se oduvijek divio piscu E. T. A. Hoffmann - zbog njegovih inicijala.

[Maru Galactica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutamente fascinada

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

specifically for the sandman: I’ve been in a reading slump for years and this is the only story that’s made me want to immediately read again/read more

[D.M. Brownwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few works were unbearably tedious, reading more like bloated Wikipedia articles than stories. The most unbearable of these is "The Walled Up Door", a tale which starts out as a pyscho-sexual gothic mystery but descends into a dry, novelette length lecture on the history of some family and their money. It wouldn't have been so tedious if it wasn't for Hoffmann's (or his translator's) insistence on lecturing the whole backstory rather than at least trying to immerse us in the drama of it.
But at their best, Hoffmann's works are wildly imaginative, and even more psychologically layered than those of his greatest protege, Poe. "The Sandman" is not only one of the earliest works of psychological horror (that I know of), but even today is among the most sophisticated. It's one of the few stories I've read that transcends its initial premise in order to dig into the very core of its main theme.

Also, "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" and "The Golden Flower Pot" are delightfully whimsical and strange in ways only fairytales can manage.