Which German Romantic author wrote 'The Nutcracker and the Mouse King'?

The German Romantic author who wrote “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” was E. T. A. Hoffmann.

Hoffmann’s literary fairy tale, originally titled “Nussknacker und Mausekönig,” was first published in Berlin in 1816. It follows a girl named Marie whose Christmas nutcracker comes alive and battles the Mouse King before taking her into a magical kingdom of dolls.

The original story is stranger and darker than many modern adaptations. It includes an elaborate tale about Princess Pirlipat, the hard nut Krakatuk, and the curse that transforms a young man into a nutcracker. These episodes are often shortened or removed in children’s editions and stage versions.

The familiar ballet is several steps removed from Hoffmann’s text. Alexandre Dumas adapted the story in the 1840s, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1892 ballet drew mainly on that adaptation. Many ballet versions also rename Marie as Clara.