E.T.A. Hoffmann was born on the 24th of January 1776 in Königsberg (now Russia) as the son of a lawyer. After his father's death he has a very bad childhood ending when he went to university to study law between 1792-95. He managed to get into the bureaucratic services of the state Prussia, but was not considered too well. Stations in Bamberg, Poland and elsewhere followed until he succeeded in getting good jobs in Berlin, lastly as a judge after 1814. Hoffmann died on the 25the of June 1822. Hoffmanns interests were widespread. He wrote music, painted pictures and, of course, wrote excellent examples of German literature. His scurrile style of writing, together with a critical tone in many of his works, earned him not too much renommee during lifetime. Today his music and paintings are nearly forgotten, but his writings stand as fantastic examples of German late "Romantik", for example the "Kater Murr" or the "Sandmann". Often connected to the dark side of the soul or the human being, Hoffmann wrote "normal" literature too, but his fame is basicly grounded on the "dark" literature.

Raised by his uncle and grandmother, Hoffmann found refuge from an odd life by writing bizarre tales which have been compared to those of Franz Kafka .Daughter Cacilie Hoffman, born 1805.Legally changed his middle name from Wilhelm to Amadeus in 1813, as tribute to the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.