Another of his stories contains a turning circle of fire which torments the protagonist, who leaps to death after attempting to kill his lover, who is saved by Lotharr.
One character created by this author escaped a lunatic asylum in Alexandria and built a hut in the forest. Another of his stories contains a turning circle of fire which torments the protagonist, who leaps to death after attempting to kill his lover, who is saved by Lotharr. In another story, an autobiography of a literate pet is mixed with the biography of his eventual master Johannes Kreisler. This author of "The Story of Serapion" and "The Life and Opinions of (*) Kater Murr" wrote about a barometer salesman named Coppelius who torments Nathanael in one story, though his most familiar tale is about a certain soldier who is brought by Herr Drosselmeyer to fight the Mouse King. For 10 points, name this German author of "The Sandman" and The Nutcracker.  
One character created by this author escaped a lunatic asylum in Alexandria and built a hut in the forest.
Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Amadeus {Hoffman}