Hoffman was supposed to be a big influence on Dostoevsky and Poe, and a pioneer of the detective and horror genres, so I thought I would check his stuff out.

I got through the first two stories(Mademoiselle de Scudery and The Sandman,) then gave up. I can see why they were viewed as revolutionary and important at the time, but in light of having read so much that came after them in the genre(s), they seem kind of slow-paced and tendentious. Also just sort of over-the-top emo in the way of lots of Romantic Era stuff, which grates on me even with awareness of the context. So, though Hoffman is important historically, on his own merits as a mystery/horror/detective writer, he just didn’t really hold my interest.