E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776–1822) is the last German romantic and the first realist, a man who was destined to connect the world of the ordinary with the magic of the unusual. In the sea of speculation and mystification that surrounds the name of Hoffmann, the author of the book tries (and quite successfully) to swim on a wave of objectivity, relying on the writer’s diaries, correspondence and memories of him; As the narrative progresses, Hoffmann's poetic universe unfolds before the reader, a world of bizarre and strange creatures, mirrors that steal reflections, and doubles that multiply to infinity.