ERNST THEODOR AMADEUS HOFFMANN was one of the most important writers of German Romanticism. He is probably best remembered for his novellas and short stories, which combine fantastical elements with a darker realism and examine the harmful effect of the unfettered imagination on the pathological mind. His novella The Sandman inspired Delibes’ ballet Coppelia, whilst The Nutcracker and the Mouseking became the basis of Tchaikovsky’s much-loved Christmas ballet.