E. T. A. Hoffmann (Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann) was a German author and composer best known for his short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King", which was adapted into the famous ballet The Nutcracker. Educated as a lawyer, Hoffmann served as a Prussian law officer of the Polish provinces, until 1806 when he transitioned into a career as a music conductor, critic, and director. Hoffmann’s breakthrough as an author came with the publication of Ritter Gluck in 1806. He then composed the opera Undine, which opened in 1814, and shortly thereafter authored the short-story collection Fantasy Pieces in Callot’s Manner. Hoffmann went on to write two novels and more than fifty short stories. E.T.A. Hoffmann died in 1822 at the age of 46, but is remembered as one of the foremost authors of the Romantic Movement and for his artistic influence during the nineteenth century.
