The Tale of the Nutcracker

Enter a world of magic and enchantment with Alexandre Dumas's timeless adaptation of the Nutcracker story, The Tale of the Nutcracker. When little Marie receives a rather ugly doll for Christmas, she isn't sure what to make of him. His head is far too large, his legs far too small; but he's certainly excellently dressed! Things take a strange turn on Christmas Eve when, as the clocks strike midnight, the odd little Nutcracker comes to life to do fierce battle against the malevolent Mouse King and his armies. But that's just the beginning of the Nutcracker's strange and magical story. Full of magical wonder and surreal fantasy, this famous adaptation, which inspired Tchaikovsky's beloved ballet, is a celebration of childhood imagination, full of talking toys, candy kingdoms and dastardly mice.

Alexandre Dumas was a French playwright, historian and prolific novelist, penning a string of successful books including The Three Musketeers (1844), The Count of Monte Cristo (1845), and Twenty Years After(1845). His novels have been translated into a hundred different languages and inspired over two hundred films. In his day Dumas was as famous for his financial irresponsibility and flamboyant lifestyle as for his writing. Dumas died in 1870.