E.T.A. Hoffmann

Professor Ritchie Robertson

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English

Reaktion Books
01 January 2026

Music; Biography: literary; Literature: history & criticism

Series: Critical Lives

E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) is celebrated for his supernatural fiction such as The Sandman as well as his musical achievements, notably the opera Undine. This book offers a concise yet comprehensive introduction to Hoffmann as a Romantic writer, composer and public figure. It follows his life as a lawyer, theatre director and senior judge in Berlin, where he clashed with authorities over their persecution of student radicals. Drawing on Hoffmann's personal writings and contemporary recollections, it also highlights how historical events like Napoleon's invasion disrupted his career. By combining his literary and musical contributions, the book presents Hoffmann as a multifaceted artist whose inventiveness, both comic and spine-chilling, remain influential today.

By: Professor Ritchie Robertson
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 200mm, Width: 130mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781836391012
ISBN 10: 1836391013
Series: Critical Lives
Pages: 160
Publication Date: 01 January 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Ritchie Robertson is a Fellow of the Queen's College, Oxford, and Emeritus Schwarz-Taylor Professor of German at the University of Oxford. His books include Friedrich Nietzsche (Reaktion Books, 2022) and German Political Tragedy: The Machiavellian Plot and the Necessary Crime (2024).

Reviews for E.T.A. Hoffmann

""In this concise yet informative and incisive study, Ritchie Robertson investigates Hoffmann's lesser-known achievements in music, figurative art and legal practice to generate new insights into familiar literary works. Not least, the result is a productive biographical perspective on Hoffmann himself.""--Nicholas Saul, Durham University