The New International Encyclopædia/Hoffmann, Ernst Theodor Amadeus
HOFFMANN, 
(originally ) (1776-1822). An eccentric
German romantic novelist of cosmopolitan
reputation and influence, born at Königsberg.
His foremost characteristic is his wayward
yet keen fancy, suggesting at once Hawthorne
and Poe. He dealt by preference with the
grotesque, startling, and marvelous, until toward
the close of his life morbidity verged on
madness. After a joyless childhood, he prepared
for the law, let his wit run away with his
prudence in some witty caricatures, and finding his
career thus blocked. suffered from penury and
dissipation. He eked out a living by scene and
portrait painting and musical composition and
criticism in Posen, Warsaw, Bamberg, Leipzig,
Dresden, and Berlin, where in 1816 he became
councilor of the Court of Appeals. For short
intervals he was manager and musical
director also. His first book was a collection
of musical criticisms with illustrations,
Phantasiestücke in Callots Manier (1814). In 1816
appeared Die Elixire des Teufels, which, with
Lebensansichten des Katers Murr (1820-22), is
the most famous of his works. Other noteworthy
volumes are Die Serapionsbrüder (1819-21) and

Nachtstücke (1817). All are alike characterized
by a lyric swing and an erratic imagination that
is mentally disquieting and yet blended with
shrewd satire, wit, and even wisdom. He died of
disease induced by dissipation, his mind at times
clear, and clinging tenaciously to a life that ebbed
inch by inch away. Hoffmann's Works are in
fifteen volumes (1879-83). Of the more popular,
there are many editions. The Elixire des Teufels
has been translated into English (1824), also
Der goldene Topf (The Golden Pot), one of the
Phantasiestücke, by Carlyle in his German
Romance (Edinburgh, 1827), with a biographical
sketch. Other translations are by Gillies
(London, 1826); Bealby, (New York, 1885); and Ewing
(London, 1886). Consult: Hitzig, Hoffmanns
Leben und Nachlass (Stuttgart, 1839), and
Erinnerungen, by Funck (Leipzig, 1836).