Nutcracker and Mouse King and The Tale of the Nutcracker (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

E. T. A. Hoffmann (Author), Alexandre Dumas (Author), Joachim Neugroschel (Translator), Jack Zipes (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: October 30, 2007 | Series: Penguin Classics

The original stories behind everyone's favorite 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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alexandre Dumas was born July 24, 1802, at Villiers-Cotterets, France, the son of Napoleon's famous mulatto general, Dumas. Alexandre Dumas began writing at an early age and saw his first success in a play he wrote entitled Henri III et sa Cour (1829). A prolific author, Dumas was also an adventurer and took part in the Revolution of 1830. Dumas is most famous for his brilliant historical novels, which he wrote with collaborators, mainly Auguste Maquet, and which were serialized in the popular press of the day. His most popular works are The Three Musketeers(1844), The Count of Monte Cristo (1844-45), and The Man in Iron Mask (1848-50). Dumas made and lost several fortunes, and died penniless on on December 5, 1870.
Joachim Neugroschel has won three PEN translation awards and the French-American translation prize. He has also translated Thomas Mann's Death in Venice and Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs, both for Penguin Classics. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (October 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143104837
• ISBN-13: 978-0143104834
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #999,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Holiday Classic July 30, 2008

By C. G.

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

For weeks, I debated whether or not I should buy this particular version when there are others much cheaper. In the end, this was a fantastic find!

This version of "Nutcracker and the Mouse King" is the original work written by E.T.A. Hoffman. The beginning comes with a brief introduction examining both the story and the ballet. Mr. Dumas, who wrote the alternate version, is also briefly described in the introduction. The differences among the stories are quickly apparent, though, also described for you in the introduction.

As a much loved holiday classic, I was astounded at the differences between the original work and the ballet. Both are structured to be absolutely beautiful works that speak for themselves and each contains meanings beyond words. If you are looking for a lovely holiday book for yourself, a friend, or young one, this is the perfect gift.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Explanations for the" versions" of the Ballet March 12, 2009

By Shirley Wardzinski

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book seems rather scholarly, maybe a thesis? It gives you the original story , plus the Dumas version used in many ballets. I own several different "Nutcracker Ballet DVDs, I watch them all each Christmas. They all vary and now I know where the differences come from! I didnt realize the Godfather Drosselmeyer really had a nephew--I thought it was just added as a job for Macaulay Culkin! The Mouse King varies tremedously, too . If you the love this ballet---you have to have this book!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Nutcracker September 19, 2009

By Stephen Balbach

Format:Paperback

Penguin was able to turn the short classic `Nutcracker and Mouse King` (1816) into a standalone volume by adding a scholarly Introduction, and a later re-telling of the story `The Tale of the Nutcracker` by Dumas (of Three Musketeers fame) which composes half the book. Most importantly the translations are new, although that doesn't always mean better, but it seems OK to me.

The most important insight from the Introduction is that Hoffmann wrote the story as a critique of the middle-class in Germany in the early 19th century - serious, ridged, strict and conformist (not only German, the same could be said for 19th century Victorian culture). Children are stifled and kept in emotional check, expected to act like mini adults. For Hoffmann, freedom from this condition can be obtained by means of the imagination. In the story, time and again we see reality and fantasy merge as the children escape from the ridged confines imposed by their parents and strict social convention by way of make believe. Once the perspective of Hoffmann's critique is seen, the story takes on a new dimension, certain passages make more sense and the story seems less "weird" or dark. It is more than just a fairy-tale about toys that come to life, but a serious work of art about people.

As for the Alexandre Dumas' version in the second half of the book, I found it to be inferior to Hoffmann; I didn't want alter my memory with the retelling, so I quit it early on. I may return another time as I understand it was influential in the ballet adaptation. Thus the four stars.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My Nutcracker Prince January 19, 2009

By Leah M. Beaton

Format:Paperback

Like many Americans, I have grown up watching the Nutcracker ballet. It was really nice to read the story that inspired the ballet. Both versions of this story are really great reads.

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad translation December 20, 2012

By NewsGrrrl!

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book because I was looking for a copy of Alexandre Dumas' Nutcracker, which I have never read, but I could barely make my way through the E.T.A. Hoffmann translation. It was awful. The translator's bio claims he's won three PEN translation awards, but clearly he was phoning it in on this one. This book read like something that was spit out of an online translator, with no accounting for the connotation of words. Even worse than that, however, is the text is filled with mistakes on who is being referred to. One example of many is on page 54. The passage speaks of Marie's desire to join in and help the Nutcracker's sisters in preparing the meal, followed by, "As if she had read HIS mind, Nutcracker's most beautiful sister handed Marie a small gold mortar..." Clearly the "his" should have been "her: because it refers to Marie, not the Nutcracker. And on page 16 there is an entire section where the Nutcracker is called Fritz, who is not the Nutcracker, but Marie's brother. If you're interested in the Nurcracker short stories, which you should be because they are vastly different than the ballet or movie versions you've seen, I'd advise you to find a different translation.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book! November 26, 2012

By mileysmiley

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

It was excellent and I liked how they had two different versions of the story. I would buy it again.

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for understanding the Nutcracker backstory December 18, 2011

By A. S. Templeton

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Both Hoffmann's original story and Dumas' simplified & softened retelling are presented here, prefaced with an introductory discussion to provide historical and cultural context.

The translations tend towards the literal and prosaic, occasionally using harsh or clunky modern English and American idiom, rather than being recast into softer expressions and archaic-quaint phrasing, as one would expect of a 19th-Century European period piece. Some phrases are translated that become puzzling, or assume an understanding of context two hundred years gone.

Fortunately what shines through are Drosselmeier's dark/complex character, the love and understanding between Marie (aka Clara) and Nutcracker, and the fairy-tale antecedents that give rise to the necessarily stripped-down conflict and drama seen on modern Ballet stages.

In this edition, understanding of the historical-cultural underpinnings will be difficult unless one first trudges through the book's introduction. The editors and translators could profitably dig deeper next time around, enriching later editions with footnotes and annotations to the numerous German and French figures of speech and allusions.