The Nutcracker and The Mouse King is one of the most famous children`s novels that brilliantly captures the child`s wonder at Christmas. Since its publication in 1816, it has inspired hundreds of artists and adaptations. As a part of its festive philatelic program Guernsey Post unveiled a set of seven “magical’ stamps that feature some of the brightest episodes from the novel. Designed by Andrew Robinson this beautiful set of stamps will be available for purchasing from Nov. 8.
The Nutcracker and The Mouse King is a famous novel written by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann who was one of the most important German Romantic authors of fantasy and horror. He is probably best remembered for his novellas and short stories that blend fantastical elements with a darker realism. His best-known work - The Nutcracker and the Mouse King – is the tale of a spoiled prince who lives in a magnificent palace with his magician uncle, Drosselmeier. The story begins on Christmas Eve where Marie, aged seven, and her brother Fritz, eight, excitedly await the arrival of their Godfather, Drosselmeier, in anticipation of the wonderful gifts he brings them each year.
The stamps introduced by Guernsey Post feature the following scenes from this interesting novel: the first item shows how Fritz breaks the Nutcracker; the second stamp features the battle; the third item shows the repaired Nutcracker; the forth item shows the Mouse Queen & Pirlipat; the fourth stamp bears the title “breaking the spell”; the fifth stamp features the episode in which Mouse King visits Marie; and the last one is devoted to Drosselmeier's Nephew & Marie.
