<p>Sometimes you just want to have the original.&nbsp; This is one of the earliest known English translations of E.T.A. Hoffmann&#39;s classic children&#39;s tale, 'Nutcracker and Mouse-King,&#39; which was penned in German in 1816. While Alexandre Dumas, <em>p&egrave;re</em> was making this story famous in France, this translation by Mrs. St. Simon was making it popular in the English-speaking world.&nbsp; The stage was set for Tchaikovsky to bring the story into the 20th century in his famous ballet.&nbsp; This edition carefully re-constructs the text of the 1853 edition, and also includes the original woodcut illustrations that accompanied it.&nbsp; At Christmas, you want to read aloud to your children the same stories that delighted countless other children over the decades and centuries over the holidays.&nbsp; If that is what you&#39;re looking for, this edition is for you.</p><p>Or, if you just trying to fathom what on earth Tchaikovsky is portraying in his ballet, reading an early English translation that aimed to be faithful to the original is a great start.&nbsp;</p>