The story that inspired the ballet - now a festive staple - alongside two other stories by Hoffman, this is a beautiful little book ideal for Christmas. 'The Nutcracker' has plenty of magic and the air of a fairy tale, while 'The Sandman' and 'The Mines at Falun' are a little more dark and uncanny. Worth the read, no matter the season.

A stunning hardback version of this classic story - a perfect stocking filler or Christmas gift!

Ordered this as a reward and am so excited to receive it!!!

A lovely little Christmas classic wrapped up in a gorgeous cover.

This gorgeous clothbound classic edition actually contains three stories by Hoffmann: The Nutcracker, The Sandman and The Mines at Falun. I read it for the Nutcracker as I wanted to read something Christmas-y. I ended up reading all the stories out of curiosity because The Nutcracker certainly wasn't what I expected! Now I know Hoffmann was a fantasy and horror writer, this makes a lot more sense. The stories in this edition are taken from previous Penguin publications. Each story is from a different translator. Note there are no illustrations in this edition. The Nutcracker makes up about half of the book. It does indeed start with children looking forward to presents on Christmas Eve, including the curious looking Nutcracker, in the shape of a young man. Although the famous ballet is based on the tale, there are definitely no sugar-plum fairies here, but battles between the Nutcracker and the seven-headed Mouse King. We also have the origin story of the Nutcracker from an elderly uncle who makes intricate toys. This is not the easiest translation to follow - some of the English doesn't read that well so it's probably more for adults who are interested in the original stories. The second two stories (The Sandman, The Mine at Falun) read much better in terms of translation and I found these much easier to follow. Both are sad tales of young men, love, obsession and curses. I enjoyed them but they are quite dark and sorrowful. So overall, a 3.6 (rounded up to 4) from me. This is edition is beautifully presented but is more for adults because of the writing style and dark fantasy. If you're interested in the original stories, these Little Clothbound Classics are lovely to own. I shall certainly be collecting more of these! Many thanks to the publisher for the reading copy.