Machinations and Mesmerism: Tales Inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann

by Farah Rose Smith (Editor), Michael Cisco (Contributor), Rhys Hughes (Contributor)

MACHINATIONS AND MESMERISM: A TRIBUTE TO E.T.A. HOFFMANN Edited by Farah Rose Smith, ?Machinations and Mesmerism? is an anthology of fantastic, strange fiction written in the vein of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, the oft?-unsung artistic polymath and writer of Dark Romanticism, Gothic Horror, and Fantastic literature. E. T. A. Hoffmann was a Prussian lawyer, artist, composer, and writer. His stories are ripe with strange atmospheres and peculiar characters (including automata, madmen, and spectres), which would go on to influence the Gothic and macabre writers of the following generations including Poe, Gogol, Kafka, and Baudelaire. This carefully curated anthology honors the literary dance between mesmerism, mechanics, and magic through which Hoffmann explored issues of Romantic idealism and the self.

264 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 2019

About the author

Farah Rose Smith was born and raised in Rhode Island. She is the author of the novellas ANONYMA, The Almanac of Dust, and Eviscerator. Her first collection of short fiction, Of One Pure Will, was released by Egaeus Press in 2019 and will be re-released by Trepidatio Publishing in September of 2021. Her writing has appeared in Lackington’s Magazine, Darker Magazine (Russia), Spectral Realms, Vasterien Literary Journal, Nightscript, Dead Reckonings, etc. Smith holds a BA in Comparative Literature from Hunter College and is currently working towards a Master’s degree at Hunter College in English. She is a book reviewer for Publisher’s Weekly and works part-time as a literary agent. She lives in New York City with her husband, author Michael Cisco, and their three cats.