Nutcracker and Mouse King and The Tale of the Nutcracker

The original stories behind everyone's favourite Christmas ballet It wasn't until the 1950s that seeing The Nutcracker at Christmastime became an American tradition. But the story itself is much older and its original intent more complex. This eye-opening new volume presents two of the tale's earliest versions, both in new translations: E.T.A. Hoffmann's Nutcracker and Mouse King (1816), in which a young girl is whisked away to the Land of Toys to help her animated nutcracker defeat the Mouse King, and Alexandre Dumas's 1845 adaptation, The Tale of the Nutcracker, based on Hoffmann's popular work. Irresistible tales of magic, mystery, and childhood adventure, these timeless delights and fresh interpretations about the importance of imagination will captivate readers of all ages.

E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-û1822) worked in the Prussian civil service before becoming one of the most popular fiction writers of his time.
Alexandre Dumas p+¿re (1802-û1870), one of nineteenth-century France-'s most prolific novelists, is best known for his historical novels that began with The Three Musketeers.
Joachim Neugroschel has won three PEN translation awards and the French-American translation prize.
Jack Zipes is a professor of German at the University of Minnesota.