The Nutcracker

By E. T. A. Hoffmann

This 1816 story is perhaps best known as the basis for Tchaikovsky's popular ballet, but Hoffmann's holiday legend is where the spell begins. Here is the original tale of seven-year-old Marie and her beloved Nutcracker, beset by a dark mystery that surrounds this story within a story.
Godpapa Drosselmeier, who once served as the royal court's inventor, recounts to Marie a tale of the trickery of Dame Mouserink, the Queen of Mice. The vengeful queen casts a curse on an innocent princess, forcing Drosselmeier to undertake an arduous quest to break the spell. His mixed success leads to the lasting enmity between the Nutcracker and seven-headed Mouse-King — Dame Mouserink's son — a conflict that only Marie can help resolve.
One of the world's greatest fantasy writers and a major figure in late German Romanticism, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776–1822) created extraordinary works of poetry and supernatural fiction. In tales like The Nutcracker, Hoffmann's characters come to vivid life in settings that move from the firm ground of reality to a world of enchantment, mystery, and romance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Release date: Nov 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9780486835631

Book preview

NUTCRACKER

1. CHRISTMAS EVE

ON THE TWENTY-FOURTH of December, Dr. Stahlbaum’s children were not allowed on any pretext whatever at any time that day to go into the small drawing-room, much less into the best drawing-room into which it opened. Fritz and Marie were sitting cowering together in a corner of the back parlour when the evening twilight fell, and they began to feel terribly eerie. Seeing that no candles were brought, as was generally the case on Christmas Eve, Fritz, whispering in a mysterious fashion, confided to his young sister (who was just seven) that he had heard rattlings and rustlings going on all day, since early morning, inside the forbidden rooms, as well as distant hammering. Further, that a short time ago a little dark-looking man had gone slipping and creeping across the floor with a big box under his arm, though he was well aware that this little man was no other than Godpapa Drosselmeier. At this news Marie clapped her little hands with joy, and cried:

"Oh! I do wonder what pretty things Godpapa Drosselmeier has been making for us this time!"

Godpapa Drosselmeier was anything but a nice-looking man. He was small and lean, with a great many wrinkles on his face, a big patch of black plaster where his right eye ought to have been, and not a hair on his head; which was why he wore a fine white wig, made of glass, and a very beautiful work of art. But he was a very, very clever man, who even knew and understood all about clocks and watches, and could make them himself. So that when one of the beautiful clocks that were in Dr. Stahlbaum’s house was out of sorts and couldn’t sing, Godpapa Drosselmeier would come, take off his glass periwig and his little yellow coat, gird himself with a blue apron, and proceed to stick sharp-pointed instruments into the inside of the clock in a way that made little Marie quite miserable to witness. However, this didn’t really hurt the poor clock, which, on the contrary, would come to life again, and begin to whirr and sing and strike as merrily as ever; which caused everybody the greatest satisfaction. Of course, whenever he came he always brought something delightful in his pockets for the children—perhaps a little man, who would roll his eyes and make bows and scrapes, most comic to behold; or a box, out of which a little bird would jump; or something else of the kind. But for Christmas he always had some specially charming piece of ingenuity; something which had cost him infinite pains and labour—for which reason it was always taken away and put aside with the greatest care by the children’s parents.

"Oh! what can Godpapa Drosselmeier have been making for us this time," Marie cried, as we have said.

Fritz was of the opinion that this time it could hardly be anything but a great castle, a fortress, where all sorts of pretty soldiers would be drilling and marching about; and then, that other soldiers would come and try to get into the fortress, upon which the soldiers inside would fire away at them, as pluckily as you please, with cannon, till everything banged and thundered like anything.

No, no, Marie said. Godpapa Drosselmeier once told me about a beautiful garden with a great lake in it, and beautiful swans swimming about with great gold collars, singing lovely music. And then a lovely little girl comes down through the garden to the lake, and calls the swans and feeds them with shortbread and cake.

Swans don’t eat cake and shortbread, Fritz cried, rather rudely (with masculine superiority), and Godpapa Drosselmeier couldn’t make a whole garden. After all, we have got very few of his playthings; whatever he brings is always taken away from us. So I like the things papa and mamma give us much better; we keep them, all right, ourselves, and can do what we like with them.

The children went on discussing what he might have in store for them this time. Marie called Fritz’s attention to the fact that Miss Gertrude (her biggest doll) appeared to be failing a good deal as time went on, inasmuch as she was more clumsy and awkward than ever, tumbling on to the floor every two or three minutes. This did not occur without leaving very ugly marks on her face, and of course proper condition of her clothes became out of the question altogether. Scolding was of no use. Mamma too had laughed at her for being so delighted with Miss Gertrude’s little new parasol. Fritz, again, remarked that a good fox was needed for his small zoological collection, and that his army was quite without cavalry, as his papa was well aware. But the children knew that their elders had got all sorts of charming things ready for them, and that the Christ Child, at Christmas time, took special care for their wants. Marie sat in thoughtful silence, but Fritz murmured quietly to himself:

All the same, I should like a fox and some hussars!

It was now quite dark. Fritz and Marie, sitting close together, did not dare to utter another syllable; they felt as if there were a fluttering of gentle, invisible wings around them, while a very distant, but unutterably beautiful strain of music could dimly be heard. Then a bright gleam of light passed quickly across the wall, and the children knew that the Christ Child had sped away on shining wings to other happy children. At this moment a silvery bell said, Kling-ling! Kling-ling! the doors flew open, and such a brilliance of light came streaming from the drawing-room that the children stood rooted where they were with cries of Oh! Oh!

Papa and mamma came and took their hands, saying, Come now, darlings, and see what the blessed Christ Child has brought for you.

2. THE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

I APPEAL TO you, kind reader (or listener)—Fritz, Theodore, Ernest, or whatsoever your name may be—and I beg you to bring vividly before your mind’s eye your last Christmas table, all glorious with its various delightful Christmas presents; and then perhaps you will be able to form some idea of the manner in which the two children stood speechless with their eyes fixed on all the beautiful things; how after a while, Marie, with a sigh, cried, Oh, how lovely! how lovely! and Fritz gave several jumps of delight.

The children had certainly been very, very good and well-behaved all the foregoing year to be thus rewarded; for never before had so many beautiful and delightful things been provided for them. The great Christmas tree on the table bore many apples of silver and gold, and all its branches were heavy with bud and blossom, consisting of sugar almonds, many-tinted bon-bons, and all sorts of things to eat. Perhaps the

Reviews for The Nutcracker

[bwhitner-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Two stories, both kind of fairytales in a way. One about a nutcracker of course who was really a prince, the other about a fairy who visited two children.

[nbmars · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is not just a hackneyed version of "The Nutcracker" dressed up by the magnificent illustrations of Maurice Sendak. On the contrary, this book (beautifully printed and bound) features the original story written by E.T.A. Hoffmann, later watered down for the famous ballet. While I have always loved the ballet in any form, this story is far superior to the traditional one, and captured my attention from the very start. As Sendak wrote in his preface about the version familiar to audiences today:"[It] is smoothed out, bland, and utterly devoid not only of difficulties but of the weird, dark qualities that make it something of a masterpiece.”Kent Stowell, the artistic director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet, invited Sendak to collaborate on a new production, and they agreed to adapt the Hoffman version. The translation used in this book by Ralph Manheim is superb – there is nothing dated or stodgy about it, and I found myself unable to quit reading until I had finished the entire story. And as admirers of Sendak know, as an illustrator he is particularly well-suited to capture “weird, dark qualities” and render them as not at all scary but full of whimsy and fascinating detail.My favorite parts? The character known as the Giant Sweettooth of Candytown (since he is obviously one of my progenitors) and the very last sentiment, which concludes:"…Marie is believed to be still the queen of a country where sparkling Christmas woods, transparent marzipan castles, in short, the most wonderful things, can be seen if you have the right sort of eyes for it.”“The right sort of eyes” …. What a marvelous concept!

[gold_gato-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There are many versions of Hoffman's classic Christmas story, but I enjoyed this one immensely due to the dreamlike drawings of Scott Gustafson. It's like being in a little shop off a crooked alleyway, where a clockmaker's sign hangs over the entrance. Old world mixed with enchantment.

Looking at armed mice dressed as 17th century musketeers or gingerbread cookies come to life was a true delight. The colors are vibrant and if you happen to be playing Tchaikovsky in the background, the better. This is a small book for the child's hand and makes the perfect stocking stuffer for the holidays.


Book Season = Winter

[debnance_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm so used to seeing the Nutcracker as a ballet that it comes as a big of a shock to see the story in print.(And, honestly, I'm not sure that I don't prefer it that way.)Love the Sendak illustrations. Why not, I suggest, just have them? Skip the words which feel redundant. A wordless book, maybe?

[hrose2931 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I went to the Nutcracker Ballet every year as a little girl. It was such a tradition I can't remember not going, but at some point I stopped going. I don't remember how old I was, maybe when I stopped believing in Santa? Maybe later. But schools used to go on field trips to see it I remember. It was A BIG DEAL! And I haven't seen it since I was a little girl. But I vaguely remembered bits and pieces of it. A girl in a white dress. A soldier, a battle, a rat soldier. All of it was kind of way back in my mind. I started with the Prologue for The Nutcracker written by Maurice Sendak in 1984. He dug up the original story of the Nutcracker written by E.T.A. Hoffmann. It was then translated by Ralph Manheim and a whole subplot "The Story of the Hard Nut" was discovered that had never been performed in the ballet. So not only did I get to rekindle my memories of the ballet I remembered, but an entirely new fairytale was revealed to me. And you know how when you read a book, it's always better than the movie?The same is true for watching a ballet and reading the book. You can read the intentions and feelings, what everything looks like in detail, whereas on a stage you might miss something because you're too far away. So, as always, I liked the book better. I always will.It starts off right away with a beautifully written story, somewhat dark, set in the past with the Christ Child bringing their presents. And they are very good children indeed as they get many presents. The tree is described in great detail and so beautifully, I want to decorate mine like that. And then Marie finds the Nutcracker and falls in love with it. But she's told she has to share The Nutcracker and her brother Fritz breaks him. All is better when she is given the Nutcracker to care for and she wraps him in her handkerchief. She is besotted with him.Now you may or may not know the story from there but the King of the Mice wages a battle against the Nutcracker and Marie and her brother's soldiers. Marie is wounded and her Godfather comes to tell her a story, "The Story of the Hard Nut," which he tells her over three consecutive nights and repairs the Nutcracker. "The Story of the Hard Nut" explains why the King of the Mice and the Nutcracker are fighting in the first place, a long history between the two families, err mice and man. It greatly adds to the story and I'm sorry it's been left out for so long. I always remembered that Clara was the center of the romance in The Nutcracker, but it is dear sweet Marie and her steadfast love of the ugly Nutcracker that brings the story to it's end. She is laughed at by her family as she tells of her journey with The Nutcracker to Marzipan Castle where he is King. She's not allowed to mention it again for fear of her father throwing The Nutcracker and all her other dolls out as well. But all is well in the end.The pictures are...they are Maurice Sendak. There are a few monsters from Where the Wild Things Are peeking out from behind things. They are as descriptive as a picture can be. I've always loved Maurice Sendak's work and it works so well in this story with the King of the Mice and the Nutcracker especially.I highly recommend adding this to your Christmas collection. I loved the ending!!If you'd like to see a few of the pictures from the book you can click HERE and check them out. Clicking on each picture will bring up a larger picture and a description of what's happening in the scene.Thanks to Danielle at Crown Publishing for the complimentary copy for review.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read aloud to my son for Christmas. This is the basis for the famous ballet, the story of Marie, who receives a Nutcracker doll for Christmas that subsequently comes to life, battles a seven-headed mouse king, and takes Marie on a tour of a fairyland made of sweets. My son pronounced it "weird, but very descriptive, so I could picture it in my head, so I liked it." I thought it was entertaining, but surreal and dreamlike.

[jenspirko · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you only know the story from the ubiquitous ballet, revisit it via this version. Maurice Sendak's distinctive art lends just the right appealingly surreal tone to ETA Hoffman's fairy tale. Like all good fairy tales, there is a thread of darkness and danger along with bright fantasy, and the spare storytelling pairs perfectly with the lush illustrations of this version.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reason for Reading: I have never read this classic Christmas story and thought it would be a wonderful addition to my Christmas reading this year. I am also a huge fan of Maurice Sendak.I have not ever read the Nutcracker before, nor have I ever seen the ballet. I am not a ballet-type person. Neither have I seen a movie version of the story. I *have* seen some Christmas movies which featured a girl who was in the ballet and have a very basic knowledge of the story from that, so I was very interested to finally read the original story. But I cannot compare it to the abridged version everyone is more familiar with. Sendak starts the book off with a very informative Introduction that explains how Hoffman's story got mixed up with a tale by Alexandre Dumas to become the popular tale told in the ballet we know today. He then goes on to recount how he became involved in both a new ballet production of the original in the early '80s and the illustration of this first true-to-the-original English translation. Excellent piece of writing.The tale itself is a product of the Regency Era, albeit from the German counterpart. This is a tiny bit earlier than the period I most prefer in my reading (post-1830) so I found the style not quite my thing but the story is a fantastical tale. What is usually referred to as a tale within a tale, the best part, I thought, of the whole story was the little girl's fantasy into the story of the hard nut. From what I gathered in the Introduction, this is the part left out of the ballet. By far the best part of the whole story! Indeed a fairy tale; this is a good translation which reads with the authenticity of its time period and yet is not stilted, taking the modern reader into account with the flow of the language. An enjoyable story, full of wonder, which would make a very good read aloud to a variety of ages. The story itself is not scary and Sendak's illustrations are wonderful. He does not make much use of his "monster" style here except in a few instances, especially in the Nutcracker himself, whom I found quite hideous and his illustration may frighten small children. I can't understand why this is referred to a Christmas story though. Yes, the book starts on Christmas Eve, but time passes and Christmas is not a theme here. I was especially delighted that the children expected their gifts to be delivered to them by the mystery of the "Christ Child"; What a wonderful way to have celebrated Christmas! Overall, I am glad to have finally experienced this classic children's tale and did enjoy it but would not put it on an equal footing with say "The Christmas Carol" or "The Bird's Christmas Carol".

[thetruebookaddict · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The original story is vastly different from the beloved ballet. I love the ballet. I've seen it many times, but I also really loved this story. I can almost imagine that the recent holiday film, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, had some basis in this original story. I've heard some people were in an uproar over the film because it's different from the ballet. Perhaps they have not read this original story? On my end, I'm always open to new interpretations of a story.

I highly recommend this. Wonderful story made even more enchanting by the fantastic illustrations of Maurice Sendak.