Sandmania

The Sandman (Netflix, 2022- )

It's actually quite hard for me to remember a time before I knew Sandman. The graphic novel, that is, not the TV series. That's pretty new to all of us, I suppose.

Neil Gaiman: World's End (1994)

And yet, I do dimly recall getting out a single volume of The Sandman Library out from the Auckland Central Library. Sometime in the late 1990s, it must have been. The book in question was No. 8: World’s End, which was, in retrospect, not a bad introduction to strange and intricate world of Neil Gaiman's comic.

Neil Gaiman: World's End (1994)

After that I read odd volumes as they came to hand - mostly completely out of sequence, unfortunately - until I had more or less grasped the whole thing. At which point I realised that I really had to own it all myself, and started buying the ones available in Borders, then online, until I had a complete set and could read the whole work from start to finish.

According to Wikipedia, The original series ran for 75 separate issues, each with a cover by Dave McKean, from January 1989 to March 1996. When collected subsequently for book publication, it was divided into the following volumes:

1. Preludes and Nocturnes, illustrated by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg & Malcolm Jones III, coloured by Robbie Busch, and lettered by Todd Klein, collects The Sandman #1–8 (1988–1989)
2. The Doll's House, illustrated by Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli & Steve Parkhouse, coloured by Robbie Busch, and lettered by Todd Klein, collects The Sandman #9–16 (1989–1990)
3. Dream Country, illustrated by Kelley Jones, Charles Vess, Colleen Doran & Malcolm Jones III, coloured by Robbie Busch & Steve Oliff, and lettered by Todd Klein, collects The Sandman #17–20 (1990)
4. Season of Mists, illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Matt Wagner, Dick Giordano, George Pratt & P. Craig Russell, coloured by Steve Oliff & Daniel Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein, collects The Sandman #21–28 (1990–1991)
5. A Game of You, illustrated by Shawn McManus, Colleen Doran, Bryan Talbot, George Pratt, Stan Woch & Dick Giordano, coloured by Daniel Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein collects The Sandman #32–37, 1991–1992)
6. Fables and Reflections, illustrated by Bryan Talbot, Stan Woch, P. Craig Russell, Shawn McManus, John Watkiss, Jill Thompson, Duncan Eagleson, Kent Williams, Mark Buckingham, Vince Locke & Dick Giordano, coloured by Daniel Vozzo & Lovern Kindzierski/Digital Chameleon, and lettered by Todd Klein, collects The Sandman #29–31, 38–40, 50; The Sandman Special #1; and Vertigo Preview No. 1 (1991–1993)
7. Brief Lives, illustrated by Vince Locke, Dick Giordano & Jill Thompson, coloured by Daniel Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein, collects The Sandman #41–49 (1992–1993)
8. Worlds' End, illustrated by Michael Allred, Gary Amaro, Mark Buckingham, Dick Giordano, Tony Harris, Steve Leialoha, Vince Locke, Shea Anton Pensa, Alec Stevens, Bryan Talbot, John Watkiss & Michael Zulli, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein, collects The Sandman #51–56 (1993)
9. The Kindly Ones, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston & Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Daniel Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein, collects The Sandman #57–69 and Vertigo Jam No. 1 (1993–1995)
10. The Wake, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J. Muth & Charles Vess, coloured by Daniel Vozzo & Jon J. Muth, and lettered by Todd Klein, collects The Sandman #70–75 (1995–1996)

If you're suprised to see quite so much detail here about who illustrated, coloured, and lettered each issue, it's important to emphasise that the creation of American mass-market comics depends on taking a team approach. There's no other way to guarantee enough product on the newstands every month.

Simply put, the writer supplies a blow-by-blow account of what they have in mind (there are sample scripts in some of the Sandman reprints, if you're curious to see what these look like). The penciller does a rough sketch of each panel and page. The inker then draws in a final version of these images (with revisions, if necessary). The colours are then added by a further artist, after which the dialogue and captions are lettered into each speech balloon and inset panel.

This sounds like - and, I gather, is - quite a laborious process. Individual comics auteurs tend to take care of most or all of these levels of production all by themselves. But that's one reason why lone wolf comics take such an inordinate amount of time to create.

The work involved is staggering, and when one adds the information - supplied by Gaiman himself - that each page of his comics requires about four pages of description, the true scale of such enterprises as The Sandman begins to come into focus: 3,000-odd pages of comic = roughly 12,000 pages of writing.

What, then, of the TV series, revealed to us finally after 30 years in development limbo? Well, fans will immediately note some changes and elisions: John Constantine has been replaced by his ancestor Lady Johanna Constantine, and a number of characters (including Death) have changed their ethnicity. All in all, though, such shifts are less notable than the number of things which have remained intact.

And one can already detect, at the end of the first series (roughly covering the first two volumes of the comic) the plotlines lining up for more momentous developments in Morpheus's journey. Overall, I'd say I liked it a lot. It's rather schmaltzy at times, but then so is the comic. It's also gruesome - which I liked less - but then that's true to the spirit of the original, too.

One thing I particularly appreciated was how slow-moving most of the episodes were. There was none of that break-neck, frenetic pace which such shows as Dr Who have increasingly adopted as their trademark technique for engaging with 'youth'. Morpheus, by contrast, speaks slowly and deliberately and has long, detailed conversations with his collaborators (and victims) before making each of his moves on the celestial chessboard.

It was, in other words, written for people with a brain - whether they happened to be young or old - rather than the guppy attention-spanned audiences generally courted by streaming providers. The special effects are rich and (for the most part) well realised, and the episodes nicely balanced between atmosphere and action.

If the overall intention was to hook us on yet another epic fantasy serial like Game of Thrones, with its year-long waits between series, I'm afraid that they've been only too successful. I, for one, will be waiting impatiently to see where they go next with it. Bronwyn is so anxious to know what happens next that she may have to resort to reading the comics!

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Neil Gaiman et al. The Sandman: Overture (2013)

There's a large number of spin-offs, sequels and part-sequels to The Sandman, some written by Gaiman himself and some by other people. Few of them could be said to be really essential reading, but there are some exceptions.

The most extended example, Mike Carey's Lucifer - which I suspect will survive its dreadful TV adaptation (even worse than the one of Gaiman's novel American Gods, which is saying something) - is, imho, a bona fide masterpiece which challenges comparison even with its original:

Mike Carey: Lucifer (1999-2007)

• Lucifer 1: Devil in the Gateway. The Sandman Presents – Lucifer 1-3: 1999 & Lucifer 1-4: 2000. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2001.
• Lucifer 2: Children and Monsters. Lucifer 5-13: 2000. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2001.
• Lucifer 3: A Dalliance with the Damned. Lucifer 14-20: 2001. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2002.
• Lucifer 4: The Divine Comedy. Lucifer 21-28: 2002. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2003.
• Lucifer 5: Inferno. Lucifer 29-35: 2003. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2004.
• Lucifer 6: Mansions of the Silence. Lucifer 36-41: 2003. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2004.
• Lucifer 7: Exodus. Lucifer 42-44, 46-49: 2004. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2005.
• Lucifer 8: The Wolf beneath the Tree. Lucifer 45, 50-54: 2004. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2005.
• Lucifer 9: Crux. Lucifer 55-61: 2005. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2006.
• Lucifer 10: Morningstar. Lucifer 62-69: 2006. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2006.
• Lucifer 11: Evensong. Lucifer – Nirvana: 2002 & Lucifer 70-75: 2006. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2007.

Some of the others, such as the 2013 "Overture" to The Sandman are also worth a look. I've provided a partial list below, but for more information, you could do worse than look here.

There's even, now, an annotated edition compiled by the indefatigable Leslie S. Klinger.

Leslie S. Klinger: The Annotated Sandman (2012-15)

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Neil Gaiman (2013)

Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman
(1960- )

Comics:


1. [with Dave McKean] Violent Cases (1987)
2. [with Dave McKean] Black Orchid (1988–1989 / 1991)
3. Sandman (1989-1996)
   • The Sandman Library I: Preludes & Nocturnes. 1991. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1995.
   • The Sandman Library II: The Doll’s House. 1990. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1995.
   • The Sandman Library III: Dream Country. 1991. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1995.
   • The Sandman Library IV: Season of Mists. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1992.
   • The Sandman Library V: A Game of You. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1993.
   • The Sandman Library VI: Fables & Reflections. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1993.
   • The Sandman Library VII: Brief Lives. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1994.
   • The Sandman Library VIII: World’s End. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1994.
   • The Sandman Library IX: The Kindly Ones. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1996.
   • The Sandman Library X: The Wake. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1997.
   • [with Yoshitaka Amano] The Sandman: The Dream Hunters. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1999.
   • The Sandman: Endless Nights. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2003.
   • The Sandman: Overture. 2013-15. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2016.
4. The Books of Magic (1990-1991)
   • The Books of Magic. 1990-91; 1993. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2001.
5. Death (1993-1996)
   • Death: The High Cost of Living. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1994.
   • Death: The Time of Your Life. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1997.
6. The Last Temptation (1994-1995)
   • [with Alice Cooper] The Last Temptation. Illustrated by Michael Zulli. 1994-95. Oregon: Dark Horse Comics, 2000.
7. [with Dave McKean] The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch (1994-1995)
8. Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days (1999)
   • Midnight Days. 1989-95. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1999.
9. Marvel 1602 (2003-2004)
   • Marvel 1602. Illustrated by Andy Kubert. 2003-4. New York: Marvel Worldwide Inc., 2013.
10. A Study in Emerald (2018)
    • A Study in Emerald. Illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque. Milwaukie, Oregon: Dark Horse Books, 2018.

Novels:


11. [with Terry Pratchett] Good Omens (1990)
    • Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. A Novel. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1990.
12. Neverwhere (1996)
    • Neverwhere. 1996. New York: HarperTorch, 2001.
    • Neverwhere: Author's Preferred Text, with How the Marquis Got His Coat Back. 1996 & 2014. William Morrow. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2016.
13. Stardust (1999)
    • Stardust. London: Headline Book Publishing, 1999.
14. American Gods (2001)
    • American Gods. London: Headline Book Publishing, 2001.
    • American Gods: The Author's Preferred Text. 2001 & 2004. Review. London: Headline Book Publishing, 2005.
15. Anansi Boys (2005)
    • Anansi Boys. London: Headline Book Publishing, 2005.
16. [with Michael Reaves] InterWorld. InterWorld Series 1 (2007)
17. The Graveyard Book (2008)
    • The Graveyard Book. Illustrated by Chris Riddell. 2008. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2009.
18. [with Michael Reaves & Mallory Reaves] The Silver Dream. InterWorld Series 2 (2013)
19. The Ocean at the End of the Lane (2013)
    • The Ocean at the End of the Lane. London: Headline Publishing Group, 2013.
20. [with Michael Reaves & Mallory Reaves] Eternity's Wheel. InterWorld Series 2 (2015)

Picture Books:


21. The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish. Illustrated by Dave McKean (1997)
22. [with Gene Wolfe] A Walking Tour of the Shambles. Illustrated by Randy Broecker (2002)
23. Coraline. Illustrated by Dave McKean (2002)
    • Coraline. Illustrations by Dave McKean. 2002. New York: Harper Trophy, 2003.
24. The Wolves in the Walls. Illustrated by Dave McKean (2003)
25. Melinda. Illustrated by Dagmara Matuszak (2005)
26. MirrorMask. Illustrated by Dave McKean (2005)
    • Mirrormask. Illustrated by Dave McKean. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2005.
27. Odd and the Frost Giants. Illustrated by Brett Helquist (2008)
28. The Dangerous Alphabet. Illustrated by Gris Grimly (2008)
29. Blueberry Girl. Illustrated by Charles Vess (2009)
30. Crazy Hair. Illustrated by Dave McKean (2009)
31. Instructions. Illustrated by Charles Vess (2010)
32. Chu's Day. Illustrated by Adam Rex (2013)
33. Fortunately, the Milk. Illustrated by Skottie Young, US / Chris Riddell, UK / Boulet, France (2013)
34. Chu's First Day of School. Illustrated by Adam Rex (2014)
35. Hansel and Gretel. Illustrated by Lorenzo Mattotti (2014)
36. The Sleeper and the Spindle. Illustrated by Chris Riddell (2014)
37. Chu's Day at the Beach. Illustrated by Adam Rex (2016)
38. Cinnamon. Illustrated by Divya Srinivasan (2017)
39. Pirate Stew. Illustrated by Chris Riddell (2020)

Short Fiction:


40. Angels and Visitations (1993)
41. Smoke and Mirrors (1998)
    • Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions. 1999. Headline Feature. London: Headline Book Publishing, 2000.
42. Fragile Things (2006)
    • Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders. 2006. London: Headline Publishing Group, 2013.
43. M is for Magic (2007)
44. Who Killed Amanda Palmer (2009)
45. A Little Gold Book of Ghastly Stuff (2011)
46. Trigger Warning (2015)
    • Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances. London: Headline Publishing Group, 2015.
47. The Neil Gaiman Reader (2020)
    • The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction. Foreword by Marlon James. London: Headline Publishing Group, 2020.

Non-fiction:


48. Duran Duran: The First Four Years of the Fab Five (1984)
49. [with Kim Newman] Ghastly Beyond Belief (1985)
    • Ghastly Beyond Belief. Ed. Neil Gaiman & Kim Newman. Introduction by Harry Harrison. London: Arrow Books, 1985.
50. Don't Panic: A Biography of Douglas Adams (1988)
51. Adventures in the Dream Trade (2002)
52. Make Good Art: A Commencement Speech Given at the UArts on 17 May 2012 (2013)
53. The View from the Cheap Seats (2016)
    • The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Non-fiction. London: Headline Publishing Group, 2016.
54. Norse Mythology (2017)
    • Norse Mythology. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017.

Screenplays:


55. [with storyboards by Dave McKean] MirrorMask: The Illustrated Film Script (2005)
56. [with Roger Avary] Beowulf: The Script Book (2007)

Secondary:


57. Bender, Hy. The Sandman Companion. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 1999.

Hy Bender: The Sandman Companion (1999)

Classic Ghost Story Writers: E. T. A. Hoffmann

Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822)

•

In a world which is indeed our world, the one we know, a world without devils or vampires, there occurs an event which cannot be explained by the laws of this same familiar world.

So says Tzvetan Todorov, in his famous essay on The Fantastic. He continues:

The person who experiences the event must opt for one of two possible solutions: either he is the victim of an illusion of the senses, of a product of the imagination – and laws of the world then remain what they are; or else the event had indeed taken place, it is an integral part of reality – but then this reality is controlled by laws unknown to us.

This moment of doubt, during which the person experiencing the event is unsure whether it is truly supernatural or just an illusion of some kind, constitutes the "fantastic" (for Todorov, at least):

The fantastic occupies the duration of this uncertainty. Once we choose one answer or the other, we leave the fantastic for a neighbouring genre, the uncanny or the marvellous. The fantastic is that hesitation experienced by a person who knows only the laws of nature, confronting an apparently supernatural event.

Tzvetan Todorov: The Fantastic (1970)

So far, so good. I think we can easily understand the distinction he makes between the marvellous - a world where the supernatural does prevail (the world of Dracula, for instance) - and the uncanny, a situation where everyday events present themselves in a strange and deceptive light.

Further attempts to unpack just precisely what is meant by this term "the uncanny" take us rapidly into deeper waters, though. In terms of fiction, it has a tendency to bring us to the door of the German Romantic writer and musician, E. T. A. Hoffmann.

•


ETA Hoffmann Promenade

Freud's touchstone essay on 'The Uncanny' [unheimlich in German] first appeared in 1919. In outlining his sense of just what it actually consists of, he was forced to rely on the work of Hoffmann, whom he referred to as the "unrivalled master of the uncanny in literature."

German Psychiatrist Ernst Jensch had earlier suggested, in his own 1906 essay 'On the Psychology of the Uncanny,' that it should be defined as a product of:

... intellectual uncertainty; so that the uncanny would always, as it were, be something one does not know one’s way about in. The better oriented in his environment a person is, the less readily will he get the impression of something uncanny in regard to the objects and events in it.

Jensch goes on to specify Hoffmann's story "The Sandman" as a fruitful source for this anxiety, mainly because of the presence of the lifelike doll, Olympia, who is one of its principal characters:

In telling a story one of the most successful devices for easily creating uncanny effects is to leave the reader in uncertainty whether a particular figure in the story is a human being or an automaton and to do it in such a way that his attention is not focused directly upon his uncertainty, so that he may not be led to go into the matter and clear it up immediately.

Freud, however, saw Jensch's analysis as somewhat simplistic:

I cannot think – and I hope most readers of the story will agree with me – that the theme of the doll Olympia, who is to all appearances a living being, is by any means the only, or indeed the most important, element that must be held responsible for the quite unparalleled atmosphere of uncanniness evoked by the story.

Instead, Freud stresses "the idea of being robbed of one's eyes" as a "more striking instance of uncanniness" in the story. He goes on to link this to the uncanny effects that result from instances of "repetition of the same thing," linking this to his infamous repetition compulsion. He also comments on the central theme of blindness in 'The Sandman':

A study of dreams, phantasies and myths has taught us that anxiety about one's eyes, the fear of going blind, is often enough a substitute for the dread of being castrated. The self-blinding of the mythical criminal, Oedipus, was simply a mitigated form of the punishment of castration – the only punishment that was adequate for him by the lex talionis.

Masahiro Mori: The Uncanny Valley

Roboticist Masahiro Mori's 'uncanny valley' diagram, which attempts to analyses our persistent anxiety at the idea of the inanimate made animate, clearly owes a good deal to Jensch as well as Freud.

This influence can also be seen in Julia Kristeva's concept of abjection. Abjection can also be uncanny, when the observer recognizes something within the abject, possibly some component of what it was before it was 'cast out', whilst still simultaneously being repulsed by whatever it was that caused it to be cast out in the first place. Kristevan abjection lays special emphasis on the uncanny return of the past - particularly in the form of the 'uncanny stranger'.

'The Sandman' is certainly one of the strangest and most complex stories Hoffmann ever wrote. Whether it can quite bear the burden of all this weight of analysis is another question, but certainly repeated readings do little to dissipate the strange atmosphere it creates.

Perhaps a better source for Hoffmann's own views on the subject is his later story "The Uncanny Guest" (Der unheimliche Gast in German). The story begins with a long discussion of:

"... that incomprehensible, mysterious condition - deeply grounded in our human organism - which our minds strive in vain to fight against, and which we ought to take great care not to allow ourselves to yield to overmuch. What I mean is, the fear of the supernatural. We all know that the uncanny race of ghosts, the haunters, choose the night (and particularly in stormy weather) to arise from their darksome dwellings and set forth upon their mysterious wanderings. So that we are right in expecting some of those fearsome visitants just at a time like this."

The speaker, Dagobert, friend of Moritz (the main character in the story), turns out to be right to expect a 'fearsome visitant' as the culmination of the expectations engendered by the storm which is raging outside. He comes, in fact, at the climax of a story told by Moritz about just such a supernatural outsider, in the form of a mysterious 'Count' who (it eventually proves) was actually the subject of the anecdote. And, just as that story ends as a door crashes open, so does this story begin with another door - their own - crashing open.

One can see here that Hoffmann does not hesitate to employ the standard toolkit of the Gothic novelist: mysterious strangers, haunted ruins, buried treasure, and childhood loves which persist beyond the grave. However the element of psychological acuity lying behind these rather stagey properties may explain the comparative longevity of his stories. They always seem to imply more than they actually say: to promise more than their rather conventional denouements can ever provide.

•


Tales of Hoffmann

I have a number of different translations of Hoffmann's tales, but the stories in them overlap. Some, such as 'The Sandman,' are in all of them. Others occur only in one or two. There are 35 stories in the four collections I own. When you eliminate repetitions (or should I say doppelgängers?), there are only 21 left. Here's a list of them all, in rough chronological order:

1. Ritter Gluck
2. Don Juan
3. The Golden Flower Pot
4. A New Year's Eve Adventure (aka The Lost Reflection]
5. The Sandman
6. The Vow
7. The Jesuit Church in Glogau
8. The Entail
9. The Deserted House
10. Councillor Krespel
11. The Mines of Falun
12. Nutcracker and the King of Mice
13. A Ghost Story
14. Automata
15. Tobias Martin, Master Cooper, and His Men
16. The Uncanny Guest
17. Mademoiselle de Scudéri
18. Gamblers' Luck
19. Signor Formica
20. The King's Betrothed
21. The Doubles

And here they are listed, in bold, according to which of the various collections of his work they first appeared in:

E. T. A. Hoffmann: Kreisler



1. from Fantasiestücke in Callots Manier [Fantasy Pieces in the Manner of Callot] - 7 stories (1814)
   1. Ritter Gluck [Ritter Gluck]
   2. Kreisleriana
   3. Don Juan [Don Juan]
   4. Nachricht von den neuesten Schicksalen des Hundes Berganza
   5. Der Magnetiseur
   6. The Golden Flower Pot [Der goldne Topf]
   7. A New Year's Eve Adventure [Die Abenteuer der Silvesternacht]




E. T. A. Hoffmann: The Sandman



2. from Nachtstücke [Night-pieces] - 8 stories (1817)
   1. The Sandman [Der Sandmann]
   2. The Vow [Das Gelübde]
   3. Ignaz Denner
   4. The Jesuit Church in Glogau [Die Jesuiterkirche in G.]
   5. The Entail [Das Majorat]
   6. The Deserted House [Das öde Haus]
   7. Das Sanctus
   8. Das steinerne Herz




E. T. A. Hoffmann: The Double



3. from Die Serapionsbrüder [The Serapion Brotherhood] - 28 stories (1819)
   1. Der Einsiedler Serapion
   2. Councillor Krespel [Rat Krespel]
   3. Die Fermate
   4. Der Dichter und der Komponist
   5. Ein Fragment aus dem Leben dreier Freunde
   6. Der Artushof
   7. The Mines of Falun [Die Bergwerke zu Falun]
   8. Nutcracker and the King of Mice [Nußknacker und Mausekönig]
   9. Der Kampf der Sänger
   10. A Ghost Story [Eine Spukgeschichte]
   11. Automata [Die Automate]
   12. Doge und Dogaresse
   13. Alte und neue Kirchenmusik
   14. Tobias Martin, Master Cooper, and His Men [Meister Martin der Küfner und seine Gesellen]
   15. Das fremde Kind
   16. Nachricht aus dem Leben eines bekannten Mannes
   17. Die Brautwahl
   18. The Uncanny Guest [Der unheimliche Gast]
   19. Mademoiselle de Scudéri [Das Fräulein von Scuderi]
   20. Gamblers' Luck [Spielerglück]
   21. Der Baron von B.
   22. Signor Formica [Signor Formica]
   23. Zacharias Werner
   24. Erscheinungen
   25. Der Zusammenhang der Dinge
   26. Vampirismus
   27. Die ästhetische Teegesellschaft
   28. The King's Betrothed [Die Königsbraut]




E. T. A. Hoffmann: Hand drawings



4. from Letzte Erzählungen [Last Stories] - 13 stories (1825)
   1. Haimatochare
   2. Die Marquise de la Pivardiere
   3. Die Irrungen
   4. Die Geheimnisse
   5. Der Elementargeist
   6. Die Räuber
   7. The Doubles [Die Doppeltgänger] (1821)
   8. Datura fastuosa
   9. Meister Johannes Wacht
   10. Des Vetters Eckfenster
   11. Die Genesung
   12. Aus dem Nachlass:
       • Neueste Schicksale eines abenteuerlichen Mannes
       • Der Feind

E. T. A. Hoffmann: The Entail

•


Jacques Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann (1881)

So what are they like to read? Well, they're a fruitful source of opera libretti, for one thing. As well as The Tales of Hoffmann, above, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker is also based on one of Hoffmann's stories.

Some of them ('Tobias Martin,' 'Mademoiselle de Scudéri') are largely historical in inspiration - based on considerable research on Hoffmann's part. The ones he's most famous for are psychological tales about divided selves, automata and various other idées fixes - as much of the author as any of his characters, one often feels.

Have they stood the test of time? Certainly one can see the seeds of many of the ideas and motifs we associate with such giants as Gogol, Dostoevsky and Poe in Hoffmann, though there's no sense in pretending that his work is on a par with theirs in literary merit.

At times, though, in such works as 'The Sandman' or 'Councillor Krespel,' there's a kind of visionary power in Hoffmann which gives one the sense of an author who never quite reached his full stature. He was only in his mid-forties when he died, and much of his time up till then had been devoted to music rather than literature. He was, in fact, the first German composer who could really have been said to have been a Romantic, before Weber and Beethoven, and a potent influence on both of them.

Finally, Hoffmann must be seen more as a seedbed of ideas than the source of their complete fruition. The idea of combining complex psychological insights with the machinery of the horror story is all his, however. So much is owed by so many to his intuitions that it's unlikely that his work in this genre will ever be entirely superseded.

Todorov prefers to discuss such works as Count Jan Potocki's Manuscript Found at Saragossa not so much because he can't find useful analogues for his ideas in Hoffmann, but rather because Hoffmann had been such a fruitful source of inspiration to Freud and others that Todorov may have felt that it was time to find some texts that were less familiar. Hoffmann is, in that sense, perhaps best seen as equivalent in influence to a German Poe.

Here, then, is my own Hoffmann collection: by no means complete, but perhaps a good place to start:

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E. T. A. Hoffmann: Gesammelte Werke

Ernst Theodor Wilhelm [later 'Amadeus'] Hoffmann
(1776-1822)

1. Hoffmann, E. T. A. Werke in zwei Bänden. Band 1: Romane. Ed. Carl Georg von Maassen & Georg Ellinger. Afterword by Walter Müller-Seidel. Notes by Wolfgang Kron. Jubliäumsbibliothek der deutschen Literatur. 2 vols. München: Winkler Verlag, n.d.
   
   
   • Die Elixiere des Teufels (1815)
   • Lebensansichten des Katers Murr (1820)


2. Hoffmann, E. T. A. Werke in zwei Bänden. Band 2: Erzählungen und Märchen. Ed. Carl Georg von Maassen & Georg Ellinger. Afterword by Walter Müller-Seidel. Notes by Wolfgang Kron. Jubliäumsbibliothek der deutschen Literatur. 2 vols. München: Winkler Verlag, n.d.
   
   
   • Die Serapionsbrüder (1819)
     Erster Band:
     1. Der Einsiedler Serapion
     2. Rat Krespel
     3. Die Fermate
     4. Der Dichter und der Komponist
     5. Ein Fragment aus dem Leben dreier Freunde
     6. Der Artushof
     7. Die Bergwerke zu Falun
     8. Nußknacker und Mausekönig
     Zweiter Band:
     9. Der Kampf der Sänger
     10. Eine Spukgeschichte
     11. Die Automate
     12. Doge und Dogaresse
     13. Alte und neue Kirchenmusik
     14. Meister Martin der Küfner und seine Gesellen
     15. Das fremde Kind
     Dritter Band:
     16. Nachricht aus dem Leben eines bekannten Mannes
     17. Die Brautwahl
     18. Der unheimliche Gast
     19. Das Fräulein von Scuderi
     20. Spielerglück
     21. Der Baron von B.
     Vierter Band:
     22. Signor Formica
     23. Zacharias Werner
     24. Erscheinungen
     25. Der Zusammenhang der Dinge
     26. Vampirismus
     27. Die ästhetische Teegesellschaft
     28. Die Königsbraut




Hugo Steiner-Prag, ed.: The Tales of Hoffmann (1943)



3. Hoffmann, E. T. A. The Tales of Hoffmann: Stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Translated out of the German by Various Hands, Illustrated with Lithographs by Hugo Steiner-Prag Together with a Prologue from the Illustrator. Introductory Essay by Arthur Ransome. Trans. J. T. Bealby, E. N. Bennett, Alex Ewing, Maria Labocceta, Jacques Le Clercq, Barrows Mussey & F. E. Pierce. The Limited Editions Club, for the George Macy Companies, Inc. New York: The Heritage Press, 1943.
   
   
   1. The Sandman
   2. The Mines of Falun
   3. Councillor Krespel
   4. Don Juan
   5. The Mystery of the Deserted House
   6. The Vow
   7. Mademoiselle de Scudéry
   8. The Entail
   9. The Uncanny Guest
   10. Gamblers' Luck




J. M. Cohen. trans.: Eight Tales of Hoffmann (1952)



4. Hoffmann, E. T. A. Eight Tales of Hoffmann. Trans. J. M. Cohen. London: Pan Books, 1952.
   
   
   1. The Lost Reflection
   2. The Sandman
   3. The Jesuit Church in Glogau
   4. The Deserted House
   5. Councillor Krespel
   6. The Mines of Falun
   7. A Ghost Story
   8. Gamblers' Luck




E. F. Bleiler, ed.: The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1967)



5. Hoffmann, E. T. A. The Best Tales of Hoffmann. Ed. E. F. Bleiler. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1967.
   
   
   1. The Golden Flower Pot
   2. Automata
   3. A New Year's Eve Adventure
   4. Nutcracker and the King of Mice
   5. The Sand-Man
   6. Rath Krespel
   7. Tobias Martin, Master Cooper, and His Men
   8. The Mines of Falun
   9. Signor Formica
   10. The King's Betrothed




E. T. A. Hoffmann: Tales (1972)



6. Hoffmann, E. T. A. Tales. Ed. & Trans. Leonard J. Kent & Elizabeth C. Knight. Illustrated by Jacob Landau. 1969. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972.
   
   
   1. Ritter Gluck
   2. The Golden Pot
   3. The Sandman
   4. Councillor Krespel
   5. The Mines of Falun
   6. Mademoiselle de Scudéri
   7. The Doubles




E. T. A. Hoffmann: Tales of Hoffmann (1982)



7. Hoffmann, E. T. A. Tales of Hoffmann. Trans. R. J. Hollingdale. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1982.
   
   
   1. Mademoiselle de Scudery
   2. The Sandman
   3. The Artushof
   4. Councillor Krespel
   5. The Entail
   6. Doge and Dogaressa
   7. The Mines of Falun
   8. The Choosing of the Bride




E. T. A. Hoffmann: The Golden Pot and Other Tales (2009)



8. Hoffmann, E. T. A. The Golden Pot and Other Tales: A New Translation. Trans. Ritchie Robertson. Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
   
   
   1. The Golden Pot
   2. The Sandman
   3. Princess Brambilla
   4. Master Flea
   5. My Cousin's Corner Window

•


E. T. A. Hoffmann: Kater Murr