E. T. A. Hoffmann 2 hr 12 min read

A hideous, spiteful dwarf is given a fairy's gift that makes everyone credit him with others' talents and beauty, until he rises absurdly, monstrously high.

E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1819 'Little Zaches, called Cinnabar' is a brilliant satirical fairy tale of undeserved glory and enchantment. Sharp, funny, savage German Romantic fantasy. Read it for a biting and magical satire on misplaced fame, from a master of the fantastic.

In its time

Published in 1819, during the 1810s, frankenstein's decade.

Reading it

2 hr 12 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).