The Nutcracker

On Christmas Eve, seven-year-old Mary opens her presents and receives a mini nutcracker figure from her godfather. Alexandre Dumas' retelling of the Nutcracker story is full of wonder and imagination, and inspired Tchaikovsky's ballet.

One night as the clock strikes twelve, Mary's Nutcracker battles an evil army of mice while she watches on aghast. The next day, none of her family believe what happened, except for godfather Drosselmeyer. He tells her the story of a young mechanic who solved a royal court's mouse problem and unwittingly brought a curse upon the Princess Pirlipata. A far-flung quest for the mystical Cracatook Nut ensues, and all of a sudden Mary and her Nutcracker find themselves getting involved in an interlinked series of adventures.

This edition features original black-and-white illustrations by French artist Bertall. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library, a series of stunning pocket-sized classics. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.

About the author

Alexandre Dumas was born in 1802. After a childhood of extreme poverty, he took work as a clerk, and met the renowned actor Talma, and began to write short pieces for the theatre. After twenty years of success as a playwright, Dumas turned his hand to novel-writing, and penned such classics as The Count of Monte Cristo (1844), La Reine Margot (1845) and The Black Tulip (1850). After enduring a short period of bankruptcy, Dumas began to travel extensively, still keeping up a prodigious output of journalism, short fiction and novels. He fathered an illegitimate child, also called Alexandre, who would grow up to write La Dame aux Camélias. He died in Dieppe in 1870.

Product details

• Authors: Dumas Alexandre
• Publisher: Pan macmillan Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 01.10.2026
• EAN: 9781035081400
• ISBN: 978-1-0350-8140-0
• No. of pages: 224
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; FICTION / Classics, Classic fiction (pre c 1945), FICTION / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology, Fiction in translation, Myth & legend told as fiction, FICTION / Adaptations & Pastiche, FICTION / World Literature / France / 19th Century, FICTION / Multiple Timelines, Fairy and Folk tales / Fairy tale retellings, Novella (Short Novel), Classic fiction: general and literary, Narrative theme: Journeys and voyages