Hoffman's “Weird Tales” is a brilliant collection of his best works, including the world-known stories like “Mademoiselle De Scuderi,” “The Nutcracker and The Mouse King,” and also one of the first horror stories in the romantic literature “The Sandman.” Hoffman's protagonists are romantic and brave representatives of the epoch. He writes about artists, musicians, poets, and also noble people of trade. His characters live in the era when men fight on duels and women faint to stress their fragility. The range of his characters is stunning. It includes the lady detective Mademoiselle De Scuderi, a mysterious Sandman who steals the eyes of those who don't want to go to bed, and an opera singer Signor Formica. Each of the presented stories has a unique character and belongs to the most valuable pieces of the world's literature that never cease to be topical, intriguing, captivating, and inspiring.
