His father was an Advokat and E.T.A. studied at the Gymnasium in Koenigsberg. He then worked as a Referendar in Glogau Silesia and in Berlin in Brandenburg and next in Posen? . He was transferred to Plotzk (Poland). In 1805 he moved again to Berlin , where he could further his talent as an artist and writer. Since 1814 he held a position at the Kammergericht, the chamber court. In 1822 he died in Berlin.
He wrote novels, short stories and he composed.
His currently most popular story is : "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King", set to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
This cute story is full of charming phantasies with Clara, Fritz and Herr Drosselmayr , the mean Mouseking and the popular Nutcracker. Many children's version books of the Nutcracker have been published.
The Ballet performances have become a yearly feature in many cities around Christmas time.
However when you read the original text of E.T.A. Hoffmann's story, you soon realize, that it was actually a story thought of and written at a political very sensitive time .Comparable messages were expressed in earlier animal stories such as Reinicke Fuchs or Aesop's Fables.
Some of Hoffmann's works:
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