Worth A Read Yes
Length 142
Quick Review The Nutcracker of Nuremberg is not the ballet you’re probably familiar with, but it is just as entrancing.
Alexandre Dumas wrote The Nutcracker of Nuremberg; well, he retold it. E.T.A. Hoffman wrote the original Nutcracker, which is very dark and not necessarily the story you want to tell your children at bedtime. Alexandre Dumas reworked the story into something lighter and happier. It evolved and inspired a ballet that has inspired the imaginations of children and adults alike for generations.
Alexandre Dumas is famous for The Count of Monte Cristo and more. He is an exceptional writer. Even writing for younger audiences, he doesn’t abandon his style or pizazz.
The Nutcracker of Nuremberg has many of the elements we’re familiar with from the ballet, but there are many more storylines not included. It is darker than I expected, but that is in accordance with the times. Children’s stories were not completely happy way back when. If you don’t believe me, just read Grimm’s fairy tales.
The story begins when a father falls asleep. He wakes up to discover his children and their friends have tied him down. They refuse to let him up until he convinces them to with the promise of a story. He begins with a nod to E.T.A. Hoffman before diving into his own telling. The story consists of three parts I. The Story of the Nutcracker of Nuremberg II. The Story of the Nut Krakatuk and the Princess Pirlipate III. The story of Marie and the King of Toys. It’s a fun story to read at this time of year because of its impact on the season.
Some of the more interesting things about The Nutcracker of Nuremberg are the names. They all have meanings, which escape most of us who don’t speak German. Drosselmeier is a much stranger character in the story than the ballet. I love the language he uses. It’s beautifully written. There are so many literary and historical allusions. It makes it a little bit of an adventure trying to find and figure out all of them.
At only 142 pages, it’s a small time commitment to read a story that helped inspire an internationally iconic ballet.
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Title: The Nutcracker of Nuremberg
Author: Alexandre Dumas
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co.
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9781435154520
