HOFFMANN, E(rnst) T(heodor) A(madeus)

(1776-1822)

   German composer, painter, lawyer, judge and writer. About 1808 he changed his third given name from Wilhelm to Amadeus in homage to Mozart, and for many years he thought of himself primarily as a musician, being intensely involved in all aspects of MUSIC from composition to criticism. His first story, "Gluck", was not written until 1809, so that it was only in the last 15 years of his life that he turned to the artform in which he did his most significant work: his tales. These expressed a grotesque Romanticism more effectively than those of any other writer of his time and, variously translated and assembled, have strongly influenced European literature. His only completed novel, Die Elixiere des Teufels(1813-16; trans R.P. Gillies as The Devil's Elixir 1824 UK; vt The Devil's Elixirs 1963), typically concerns itself with a monk seduced by the Devil. Collections of his shorter works are Fantasiestucke ("Fantasy Pieces") (coll 1814-15), Nachtstucke ("Night Pieces") (coll 1816-17) and Die Serapionsbruder (coll 1818-21; trans Alexander Ewing in 2 vols as The Serapion Brethren 1886 and 1892, both UK); early English translations from various sources include Hoffman's Strange Stories (coll trans anon 1855 US), Hoffmann's Fairy Tales (coll trans L. Burnham 1857 US) and WeirdTales of E.T.W. [sic] Hoffmann (coll trans T.J. Bealby in 2 vols 1885 UK); convenient recent assemblies include E.F. BLEILER's The Best Tales of Hoffmann (coll of old trans 1967 US), Selected Writings of E.T.A. Hoffmann(coll trans Leonard J. Kent and Elizabeth C. Knight in 2 vols 1969 US) and Three Marchen of E.T.A. Hoffmann (coll trans Charles E. Passage 1971 US). Three of ETAH's stories formed the basis of the opera Tales of Hoffmann (1881) by Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880), which was filmed in 1951. ETAH, like his celebrated successor in the GOTHIC, Edgar Allan POE, was interested in contemporary science, and especially in the psychological theories of Emanuel SWEDENBORG and the animal magnetism espoused by Franz Mesmer (1734-1815); his stories in this vein have influenced later sf. Hisbest-known story, "Der Sandmann" ("The Sandman") (1816), features the sinister spectacle-maker Dr Coppelius and the beautiful automaton he builds, with which the hero falls in love. Predating Mary SHELLEY's Frankenstein (1818), this story is an important forerunner of ROBOT andANDROID stories. It formed the basis of the ballet Coppelia (1870) by Leo Delibes (1836-1891).

   JC/PN

   See also: GAMES AND TOYS; GERMANY; HORROR IN SF; MACHINES; SCIENTISTS; THEATRE.