E.T.A. Hoffmann

"Strange man, how can you have eyes for sale? Eyes? Eyes?" ' The disturbing tale of a young man's obsession with the Sandman, stealer of eyes, which has inspired writers from Sigmund Freud to Neil Gaiman. One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

The Sandman

Phoebe Crewe 

Brianna Best

Wow. That was a wild ride from start to finish.

Stefan R. Schmid

Chloe Bostick

E. T. A. Hoffmann

Certainly you must all be uneasy that I have not written for so long, so very long. My mother, I am sure, is angry, and Clara will believe that I am passing my time in dissipation, entirely forgetful of the fair angel-image that is so deeply imprinted in my heart and mind. Such, however, is not the case. Daily and hourly I think of you all, and in my sweet dreams the kindly form of my lovely Clara passes before me, and smiles upon me with her bright eyes as she was wont when I appeared among you. Alas, how could I write to you in the distracted mood which has hitherto disturbed my every thought ! Something horrible has crossed my path of life. Dark forebodings of a cruel, threatening, fate spread themselves over me like dark clouds, which no friendly sunbeam can penetrate. Now will I tell you what has befallen me. ...

Elle Dyer

Stephanie Almogabar

Roberta Bohotici

Gustina Jaraite

The young student Nathanael remains haunted by his childhood fears: he is convinced that Coppelius, a strange night-time visitor who used to come to his house to conduct alchemical experiments with his father - the latter dying as a consequence of one of those sessions - was none other than the Sandman, a mythical figure who was said to steal the eyes of children who refused to go to sleep. When a mysterious Italian salesman with a beautiful daughter moves into town, Nathanael's suspicions are reawakened, pushing him to the brink of madness as extraordinary events unfold.

Jose Lito

Zoe Stanford

The story begins with a series of letters between Nathanael, his fiancée Clara, and her brother Lothar. Nathanael describes a childhood fear of a creature called The Sandman who was said to come at night and steal the eyes of children, which intermingled with a the appearance of a man named Coppelius in his father's room some nights to work on what appears to have been alchemy. This man once attacked Nathanael, threatening to take his eyes, and later killed his father before disappearing.

The Sandman

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