The Nutcracker

For nearly two hundred years, E.T.A. Hoffmann's tale of the Nutcracker has enchanted readers, inspired artists and composers, and delighted audiences around the world. Lisbeth Zwerger's stunning, all-new interpretation on The Nutcracker, adapted from the original Hoffmann tale, rounds out the story depicted in the ballet, exploring the background of the feud between the Nutcracker and the seven-headed Mouse King, the true role of the mysterious Drosselmeier, the tragic fate of Princess Pirlipat, the spell cast by Mistress Mousie that is finally broken by loyal Marie, and the satisfying, happily-ever-after conclusion to the great battle and fantastic journey. In pictures filled with wit and whimsy, drama, mystery, and magic, Lisbeth Zwerger transports us to the darkest reaches and brightest beauty of this fairy-tale world.

Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann, known as E. T. A. Hoffmann (Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann), was a German author and composer. He also was a draftsman and would create caricatures. One of his greatest works that has enchanted readers for nearly two hundred years is his novella, The Nutcracker, on which the famous ballet is based.


Lisbeth Zwerger has been accorded nearly every prize that can be given, including the highest international award for lifetime achievement, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. Since 1981 she has devoted her extraordinary talents to children’s literature, to stories as charming and picturesque as her native Vienna. Always surprising, always engaging, her artwork combines technical mastery with an insight and gentleness so rare and captivating that she has been correctly called one of the finest illustrators of the twentieth century.

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