Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Amadeus Hoffman was born in 1776 on Konigsberg, he was a Romantic novelist and music composer, but he is most famous as a master of the gothic tale. His stories are eclectic and his characters show his extraordinary world of imagination but also his worry for everyday life.
Many of his stories were about supernatural experiences, horror, madness and music like Fantasiestücke in Callots Manier (1814-1815), Die Serapionsbrüder (1819-1821), The Serapion Brethren (1886-1892), Die Elixiere des Teufels (1815-1816), The Devil's Elixir (1824-1826), and Lebensansichten des Katers Murr (1820-1822). Hoffman’s tales inspired many musicians: Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker (1892), Offenbach's opera Les Contes d'Hoffmann (1881) and other compositions by Schumann. Also, they had enormous influence in many writings of Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe (USA).
Ernst Theodor Hoffmann died in Berlin on 25 June 1822 at the age of 46, and is buried near the Hallesches Tor in the Jerusalem and New Churches Community Cemetery.
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