E. T. A. Hoffmann

German writer, composer, caricaturist, and painter, known for his stories in which supernatural characters reveal people's hidden secrets. However, Hoffmann was by training and profession a jurist. He changed his third name, Wilhelm, to Amadeus in 1813 in homage to the great composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Hoffmann's early aspirations were towards music and painting - he left behind a symphony, nine operas, and two masses. Other compositions include vocal, chamber, orchestral, and piano works. In middle life he became interested in writing. Most of his best work was the product of his last ten years, before his early death following an illness. Hoffmann's fiction is considered the first flowering of the horror and fantasy short story. His work influnenced among others Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud.

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