ABSTRACT
Although E.T.A. Hoffmann is seen as an icon of German Romantic writing, it was only in his later years that he started to seriously consider himself as a literary author. While having written in private from his youth onwards, he publicly established himself first as a composer and man of the theatre. He published his works anonymously until he had been acknowledged as the composer of the successfully staged opera Undine. Leaving no doubt as to his professional priorities, he wrote to his editor, discussing the title page of his first collection of novellas and fairytales: ‘I don’t want my name published, because it is to become known to the world only through a successful musical composition and in no other way.’1
