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Great Science-Fiction
& Fantasy Works
a critical list with discussions
Science-Fiction and Fantasy Books by
E. T. A. Hoffmann
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Standard Disclaimer:
This is a brief discussion of E. T. A. Hoffmann and, of course, of some speculative-fiction books by E. T. A. Hoffmann This discussion and list does not necessarily include every book by Hoffmann: it includes only those books that I both know and like. Just as with the author list itself, omission of a particular item may mean I didn't think highly enough of the omitted item, or it may simply mean that I have not yet sufficient familiarity with it. (In a very few cases, I have listed some books merely on the strength of my opinion of the author: all such books are clearly marked below, as throughout these lists, with a hash mark (#) before the title so you know what's what.) I don't pretend that this discussion is a deep analysis. My intent is no more than to give you a rough idea of what kinds of tales Hoffmann tells, how those tales are usually told, and what makes them and Hoffmann worthy; in sum, to help you rank Hoffmann (and the works by Hoffmann listed here) on your personal literary "to do" list. |
A Few Words About E. T. A. Hoffmann
Regrettably, I have not yet had an opportunity to write an essay on this author, but the "Other Resources" section below will lead you to some information about the "Notable Books" listed farther down this page. You may also find the Bibliography below helpful.
A Hoffmann Bibliography
A complete bibliography of Hoffmann's work is hard to assemble. What follows is my best attempt at cobbling together the diverse and often contradictory partial bibliographies to be found here and there. (One big problem is that many listings include only titles in English, but the same story can have many different English titles.) For that reason, in the lists below the original title is given first, followed by some of the English-language forms used for it.
Early in his creative life, Hoffmann penned a novel Cornaro that was never published; he then composed another, The Mysterious Man, of which only a fragment survives. His first book to see print was the initial volume of the four story collections that constitute Phantasiestücke in Callots Manier (Fantasy Pieces in Callot's Manner).
Novels
What constitutes a "novel" among Hoffmann's works is open to debate. This list relies chiefly on length, but also on whether or not the tale was ever included in an omnibus edition. Because this list includes all of Hoffmann's work, the titles that are speculative fiction are shown in boldface. Dates for multi-volume publication are for the initial volume.
Schwester Monika: The Experiences and Confessions of Sister Monica (or just Sister Monica) - a rarely discussed early work, pornographic, set in a convent (which idea was old hat as far back as Boccaccio and Chaucer).
Die Elixiere des Teufels: The Devil's Elixirs, 1815. One reviewer said "The Devil's Elixirs is some of Hoffmann's best writing. It is a swift-moving, engaging story that boasts many complex psychological themes, and, of course, countless overlapping motifs, double identities, and confusions between reality and the interpretation of reality."
Klein Zaches genannt Zinnober: Little Zaches, Called Cinnobar, 1819. This tale seems widely accepted as one of Hoffmann's best fantastic works (which is saying something). Little Sachs (called Cinnobar) is an ugly dwarf who acquires the magical ability to be credited for "whatever gracious or pleasing thing is said or done in his presence"--that is, he steals others' merit; Sachs rises high in the world before his literarily inevitable downfall. There is available on line a full English translation by Michael Haldane, who also offers a few brief thoughts on the tale, as well as a lengthy dissertation on translating Hoffmann into English with special notes on this piece.
Prinzessin Brambilla: Princess Brambilla, 1820 - a seemingly lightweight but ultimately philosophical comedy of errors rooted in confusion of identity, both actual and psychological.
Lebens-Ansichten des Katers Murr nebst fragmentarischer Biographie des Kapellmeisters Johannes Kreisler in zufälligen Makulaturblättern: The Tomcat Murr, 1820 (in full, The Life and Opinions of Tomcat Murr with a Fragmentary Biography of the Music Director Johannes Kreisler in Accidentally Intermingled Pages) - this is possibly Hoffmann's best work--penetrating social commentary wrapped up in screamingly funny drollery; it has a curiously modern tone.
Meister Floh: Ein Mährchen in Sieben Abenteuern Zweier Freunde: Master Flea, 1822 - a comedic (and satiric) fantasy in which the Master of the Fleas magically allows the protagonist to know to when people are lying to him; the work was a thinly veiled political critique, and got Hoffmann in a boatload of trouble.
Stories
Some of these appeared independently, but most were in his major collections, Fantasy Pieces in the Manner of Callot, Night Pieces, and The Serapion Brotherhood. They are listed below in order of appearance of the original collections holding them (not of the individual stories themselves), with a breakout by collection title. Note that most of the collections were originally issued in multiple volumes; here I have considered each to be a unit.
While many--perhaps most--of Hoffmann's tales have a fantastic element, not all do; but I have made no attempt to separate out the "fantastic" from the "mundane" in this list. Moreover, only a few of these tales are now available in English, at least without spending the GNP of a small nation on some obscure out-of-print edition. Note that the boldfacing of the original titles does not signify whether or not they are fantastic--it is only to make the entries a little more readable.
The story lists omit introductions and other non-fiction, but I have left in them the "Kreisleriana" pieces: a set of literary reflections on music mostly related by the fictitious Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler, who also appears in the novel Tomcat Murr. As one commentator said, Hoffmann "had invented poor Johannes Kreisler as a symbol for the misunderstood musician, painting him as a kind of clown"; another described Kreisler as "eccentric, antisocial, and ingenious". Most of the pieces by "Kreisler" are thus not "tales", but still embody some fictive elements. (Note that Robert Schumann wrote a series of piano pieces entitled "Kreisleriana" in tribute to Hoffmann.)
Phantasiestücke in Callots Manier [Fantasy Pieces in Callot's Manner]
- Ritter Gluck [The Knight Gluck]
- Kreisleriana (first set)
- Johannes Kreislers, des Kapellmeisters, musikalische Leiden [The Musical Sufferings of Johannes Kreisler, Music Director]
- Ombra adorata! [Ombra adorata!]
- Gedanken über den hohen Wert der Musik [Thoughts on the Great Worth of Music]
- Beethovens Instrumental-Musik [Beethoven's Instrumental Music]
- Höchst zerstreute Gedanken [Highly Scattered Thoughts]
- Der vollkommene Machinist [The Complete (Theater) Machinist]
- Don Juan [Don Juan]
- Nachricht von den neuesten Schicksalen des Hundes Berganza [News of the Latest Fortunes of the Hound Berganza]
- Der Magnetiseur [The Hypnotist]
- Der goldene Topf: Ein Märchen aus der neuen Zeit [The Golden Pot: A Fairytale of Modern Times]
- Die Abenteuer der Silvester-Nacht [The Adventures of New Year's Eve]
- Kreisleriana (second set)
- Brief des Barons Wallborn an den Kapellmeister Kreisler [Baron Wallborn's Letter to Music Director Kreisler]
- Brief des Kapellmeisters Kreisler an den Baron Wallborn [Music Director Kreisler's Letter to Baron Wallborn]
- Kreislers musikalisch-poetischer Klub [Kreisler's Musical-Poetical Club]
- Nachricht von einem gebildeten jungen Mann [News of an Educated Young Man]
- Der Musikfeind [The Enemy of Music]
- Über einen Ausspruch Sacchinis, und über den sogenannten Effect in der Musik [On an Remark of Sacchini's, and on So-Called Effect in Music]
- Johannes Kreislers Lehrbrief [Johannes Kreisler's Indenture]
Nachtstücke [Night Pieces or Nocturnes]
- Der Sandmann [The Sandman]
- Ignaz Denner [Ignaz Denner]
- Die Jesuiterkirche in G. [The Jesuit Church in G.]
- Das Sanctus [The Sanctus]
- Das öde Haus [The Bleak House]
- Das Majorat [Primogeniture]
- Das Gelübde [The Oath]
- Das steinerne Herz [The Stone Heart]
Die Serapions-Brüder [The Serapion Brotherhood]
- Der Einsiedler Serapion [The Hermit Serapion]
- Rat Krespel [Councilor Krespel]
- Die Fermate [The Cadenza]
- Der Dichter und der Komponist [The Poet and the Composer]
- Ein Fragment aus dem Leben dreier Freunde [A Fragment from the Life of Three Friends]
- Der Artushof [The Court of Arthur]
- Die Bergwerke zu Falun [The Mines of Falun]
- Nussknacker und Mausekönig [Nutcracker and Mouse King]
- Der Kampf der Sänger [The Contest of the Singers]
- Eine Spukgeschichte [A Ghost Story]
- Die Automate [The Automaton]
- Doge und Dogaresse [Doge and Dogaressa]
- Alte und neue Kirchenmusik [Old and New Church Music]
- Meister Martin der Küfner und seine Gesellen [Master Martin the Cooper and His Journeymen]
- Das fremde Kind [The Mysterious Child]
- Nachricht aus dem Leben eines bekannten Mannes [News from the Life of a Well-Known Man]
- Die Brautwahl [The Bride Selection]
- Der unheimliche Gast [The Uncanny Guest]
- Das Fräulein von Scuderi [Mademoiselle de Scuderi]
- Spielerglück [Gambler's Luck]
- Der Baron von B. [The Baron of B.]
- Signor Formica [Signor Formica]
- Zacharias Werner [Zacharias Werner]
- Erscheinungern [Manifestations]
- Der Zusammenhang der Dinge [The Coherence of Things]
- Vampirismus [Vampirism]
- Die ästhetische Teegesellschaft [The Aesthetic Tea Society]
- Die Königsbraut [The King's Bride]
Uncollected Pieces
(Not necessarily in chronological order--I have shown a year wherever I have found it listed somewhere, though some sources disagree.)
- Haimatochare [Haimatochare] - 1819
- Die Irrungen: Fragment aus dem Leben eines Fantasten [The Errors: Fragment from the Life of a Fantast] - 1820
- Die Geheimnisse: Fortsetzung des Fragments aus dem Leben eines Fantasten, 'Die Irrungen' [The Secrets: Continuation of the Fragment from the Life of a Fantast, "The Errors"] - 1820
- Die Marquise de la Pivardiere [The Marquise de la Pivardiere] - 1820
- Die Räuber: Abenteuer Zweier Freunde auf einem Schlosse in Böhmen [The Robber] - 1821
- Des Vetters Eckfenster [My Cousin's Corner Window] - 1822
- Der Elementargeist [The Elemental Spirit] - 1822
- Die Doppeltgänger [The Doubles] - 1822
- Die Genesung [The Recovery] - 1822
- Meister Johannes Wacht [Master Johannes Wacht] - 1823
- Seltsame Leiden eines Theaterdirektors [Strange Sorrows of a Theater Director] - ?
- Datura Fastuosa [Datura Fastuosa] - ? (published posthumously)
Other E. T. A. Hoffmann Resources
E. T. A. Hoffmann Resources on the Web
There was a dedicated Hoffmann site, but it seems to have vanished sometime since mid-2008; too bad--the world could use one.
As is often the case, the Author's Calendar has a very nice page, E.T.A. Hoffmann. There is also a good essay, "The Tales of Hoffmann", at the Tabula Rasa site; another good essay, E. T. A. Hoffmann, "The Sandman" is more general than its title implies. There is a useful Time Table of Hoffmann's life that also includes some of his clever drawings (he was, after all, a polymath).
Another set of valuable resources, mentioned in the body above, are Michael Haldane's a few brief thoughts on Klein Zaches genannt Zinnober and his lengthy dissertation "Little Ernest, Great Ernst: The Trials and Tribulations of E.T.A. Hoffmann in English", on translating Hoffmann.
Naturally, there is a lot more on such a famed man, but those links ought to give you a good start.
E. T. A. Hoffmann Resources in Print
The list below derives from Ritchie Robinson's "Select Bibliography" in the notes accompanying his translation of The Golden Pot and Other Tales (Oxford University Press); the notes alone are worth the price of the book.
Hoffmann, Author of the Tales, Harvey W. Hewett-Thayer, 1948 - still valuable for information, but weak on analysis and criticism.
The Shattered Self: E. T. A. Hoffmann's Tragic Vision, Horst Daemmrich, 1973 - a thorough and systematic introduction to Hoffmann.
German Men of Letters (A. Natan, ed.): Hoffmann essay, John Reddick, 1969 - a sophisticated and perceptive critical approach.
Mysticism and Sexuality: E. T. A. Hoffmann, James McGlathery, 2 volumes, 1981/1985 - volume 1 is full of useful information, some unavailable elsewhere; volume 2, the analyses, disdappoints.
Hoffmann's Other World: The Romantic Author and His 'New Mythology', Kenneth Negus, 1965 - the relations between myth and reality in hoffmann's tales.
Notable Science-Fiction and Fantasy Books by E. T. A. Hoffmann ***
- # The Devil's Elixirs
- The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr
- The Tales of Hoffmann: there is no complete English version of Hoffmann's many tales.
The best reasonably available collections, which have some overlap, include:
- # Fantasy Pieces in Callot's Manner
- The Best Tales of Hoffmann [Dover]
- Tales of Hoffmann [Penguin]
- The Golden Pot and Other Tales [OUP]
- E. T. A. Hoffmann - Tales [German Library]
- Tales of E. T. A. Hoffmann [U Chicago]
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