Weird Tales. Vol. 1

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Pages: 259

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About this book

A house built without an architect's plan introduces Councillor Krespel, whose odd habits turn a German town into a scene of comic surprise. In the opening tale, he orders doors and windows broken through walls only after they have been raised, then celebrates with the workers who followed his instructions. His skill with a violin and his passionate opinions about music suggest another side to this unpredictable figure.

The volume collects six stories in J. T. Bealby's English translation, including The Cremona Violin, The Sand-man and The Entail. In The Sand-man, Clara urges Nathanael to question the power he gives to frightening memories, while he remains troubled by the resemblance between two men. Humorous eccentricity and anxious speculation offer different approaches to the strange. Readers interested in German fantasy can follow the tension between everyday explanations and unsettling impressions.

About the author

E. T. A. Hoffmann

Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was a German Romantic author of fantasy and gothic horror, a jurist, composer, music critic and artist. His short story "The Sandman" is seen as a pioneering work of horror fiction, while his novella Mademoiselle de Scuderi is regarded as one of the earliest examples of crime fiction.