A01=Ritchie Robertson
Author_Ritchie Robertson
Category=D
Category=DNBL
Category=DS
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Gothic fiction
Humour
Law
Napoleon
Novels
Opera
Romanticism
The Sandman
Theatre
Product details
- ISBN 9781836391012
- Dimensions: 130 x 200mm
- Publication Date: 01 Sep 2025
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776–1822) is celebrated for his supernatural fiction such as 'The Sandman' as well as his musical achievements, notably the opera Undine. This book offers a concise yet comprehensive introduction to Hoffmann as a Romantic writer, composer and public figure. It follows his life as a lawyer, theatre director and senior judge in Berlin, where he clashed with authorities over their persecution of student radicals. Drawing on Hoffmann’s personal writings and contemporary recollections, it also highlights how historical events like Napoleon’s invasion disrupted his career. By combining his literary and musical contributions, the book presents Hoffmann as a multifaceted artist whose inventiveness, both comic and spine-chilling, remain influential today.
Ritchie Robertson is a Fellow of the Queen’s College, Oxford, and Emeritus Schwarz-Taylor Professor of German at the University of Oxford. His books include Friedrich Nietzsche (Reaktion Books, 2022) and German Political Tragedy: The Machiavellian Plot and the Necessary Crime (2024).
