E. T. A. Hoffmann 2 hr 36 min read

Mr. Peregrine Tyss, a solitary dreamer, receives a strange Christmas gift and falls in with Master Flea, a tiny prince who grants him the power to read the secret thoughts of everyone he meets.

E. T. A. Hoffmann's 'Master Flea' (this 1826 English translation) is a whimsical, satirical fantasy from the German Romantic master. Inventive, ironic, richly strange. Read it for a delightful tale of microscopes, magic, and mind-reading from one of the founders of fantastic literature, whose work inspired the ballet and opera stage.

In its time

Published in 1826, during the 1820s, tales of mesmerism, ghosts, and the fantastic voyage flourish in the romantic imagination.

Reading it

2 hr 36 min read (a novel-length work, settle in).