Mademoiselle de Scudéri

by E.T.A. Hoffmann

Book Overview

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1847498337
• ISBN13: 9781847498335
• Release Date: December 2020
• Publisher: Alma Books
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

suspense and personality

This is such an elegant suspense thriller full of superbly crafted characters - none of them lack real presence, each one of them - even the minor characters - have a distinct and appealing personality. There are, of course, extravagant events and circumstances. And there is also strangeness in having the King and the Prime Minister as prominent characters too. But how did Hoffmann come up with the idea of an elderly female sleuth so early in the history of mystery stories? And then there is that perceptive observation of human nature in all its bizarreness. The more I read of Hoffmann the more I am in admiration:recommended other reading:ETA Hoffmann: Tomcat Murr - this is also a mystery but of an altogether more substantial character - far more fancifulEA Poe: Mystery Stories - more early investigative and psychological thrillers

Hoffmann's Little Murder Mystery

E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) was an early exponent of stories imbued with a supernatural twist. His career encompassed several significant endeavors, from music and painting to practicing law. While working in the Prussian civil service, Hoffmann continued to work as a musical instructor. Eventually, he left the service to pursue his first love, working as a music critic, director, and conductor (he changed one of his names to Amadeus in tribute to the famous composer). When Hoffmann realized he would never create great works of music he turned to writing. Within a short time, his short stories gained much attention, eventually influencing later writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker' is based on one of Hoffmann's stories.This Hoffmann story issued by Hesperus Press, entitled 'Mademoiselle de Scuderi,' does not contain an overtly supernatural theme. Instead, the reader finds within these pages a cracking good murder mystery set in Paris during the reign of Louis XIV. A knock at the door of the Scuderi residence in the middle of the night serves as the impetus for an investigation into a series of murders occurring within the city limits. The murders involve some of the wealthiest people of the time, and the king himself is eager to find out who is responsible for the crimes. Moreover, the murderer is stealing jewelry from the victims, jewelry made by one of the top craftsmen in the country named Rene Cardillac. This jeweler is one odd duck, a man who possesses a fierce jealously about all of the ornaments he creates. As more and more people fall victim to the unknown killer (or killers), Louis creates a special commission called the `chambre ardente' to investigate this blatant crime spree. Will the people responsible be brought to justice or will the killings continue unabated? What will happen if an innocent man is unjustly accused of the crime?Enter Mlle. de Scuderi, an aging woman who moves in the top circles of Parisian society. The aforementioned knock on her door brings her into the center of the intrigue. This good lady who writes novels and poetry that even the king enjoys immensely finds herself approached by Olivier Brusson, an apprentice to Cardillac who has a strange story to tell. For Brusson, Mlle. de Scuderi is the only hope he has if he wishes to remain among the living. What seems to be a simple case of murder and greed soon blossoms into a tragic love story that will require the assistance of none other than Louis XIV if it is to survive.The foreword to this version of the story, written by Gilbert Adair, argues that Hoffmann's little tale of murder constitutes the first detective story in western literature, predating Edgar Allan Poe's `The Murders in the Rue Morgue' by many years. The problem with this claim involves the role of Mlle. de Scuderi. Adair attempts to invest this figure with shrewd deductive powers, even comparing her with Agatha Christie's Miss Marp