3 h 15 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the sensible life is the one that keeps you from the world you long for?
In Dresden, poor, clumsy student Anselmus hears wonders in an elder tree. Serpentina, a small golden green snake with deep blue eyes, draws him toward a hidden world. Around him, coffeehouses, clerks and tea parties carry on as though common sense can explain everything.
Archivist Lindhorst hires Anselmus to copy rare manuscripts, but his strange house unsettles the student. Meanwhile, Veronica Paulmann loves Anselmus and imagines a comfortable marriage. In E. T. A. Hoffmann’s The Golden Pot, he feels the pull of two lives: respectable security, and a world of poetry, nature and love.
What you’ll discover
- Magic amid ordinary streets Enter a Dresden where wonders break into the familiar world of clerks and coffeehouses.
- A wonderfully awkward dreamer Follow Anselmus as his clumsiness meets a longing that ordinary life cannot satisfy.
- Two futures pulling hard Feel the tension between Veronica’s comfortable hopes and Serpentina’s invitation to a hidden world.
- Common sense meets wonder Meet orderly schoolmasters and an odd archivist in a fairy tale with sly humor.
- A story told in darkness Explore twelve short vigils whose shifting narrator and dreamlike logic keep certainty out of reach.
Is it for you?
This is for readers who like fantasy with a sly sense of humor, and for anyone curious about German Romanticism. If you want a plain plot with clear rules, the dreamlike logic and the shifting narrator may feel slippery.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A clumsy student meets an elder tree
- Respectable Dresden pulls the other way
- The archivist's house is not what it seems
- A rival love and an old woman's spell
- Two worlds, and a soul pulled between them
- Twelve vigils and a narrator who steps forward
Who’s who
- AnselmusA poor, clumsy student in Dresden who hears and sees wonders in an elder tree and longs for a life of poetry.
- SerpentinaA small golden green snake with deep blue eyes, whose voice and gaze draw Anselmus toward a hidden world.
- Archivist LindhorstA stern, odd official who collects rare manuscripts and hires Anselmus to copy them, and who seems to know far more than he says.
- Veronica PaulmannThe Konrektor's sensible daughter, who loves Anselmus and dreams of a comfortable married life with him.
- Konrektor PaulmannVeronica's father, a schoolmaster who likes order, company and a good bowl of punch, and who trusts only common sense.
- Registrator HeerbrandA young court clerk and family friend who is steady, ambitious, and sure of his place in the practical world.
- Old LieseVeronica's former nurse, a fortune teller with dark powers, who becomes tied to the apple woman Anselmus offended.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 3 h 15 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Le Vase d’or in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Le Vase d’or
by E. T. A. Hoffmann· 1814
A student is drawn between ordinary life and a magical world.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: Français
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A clumsy student meets an elder tree
The story opens on Ascension Day in Dresden. Anselmus, a student with no money and a talent for disaster, hurries toward the Black Gate in the afternoon crowd. Just before he reaches it, he crashes into a basket of apples and cakes belonging to an old market woman. Everything spills, and she curses him in a way that is far too fierce for a simple accident. She tells him he will end up under glass, crystal in a crystal.
Shaken and almost penniless, Anselmus gives her the little purse he has been saving. Then he wanders off to the banks of the Elbe and lies down beneath an elder tree to feel sorry for himself. This is where the fairy tale begins. He hears a rustling and a tinkling in the branches, like tiny crystal bells, and then whispered words that seem to come from the leaves.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
E. T. A. Hoffmann
1776–1822 · German Romantic writer
E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776–1822) was a German writer, composer, and lawyer. He was born in Königsberg and died in Berlin. He wrote The Golden Pot (1814), The Devil’s Elixirs (1815–1816), Night Pieces (1816–1817), and The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr (1819–1821).
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Le Vase d’or
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is The Golden Pot about?
It tells of Anselmus, a poor student in Dresden who sees magical snakes in an elder tree and takes work with a mysterious archivist. He must choose between an ordinary life and a world of poetry and wonder.
Who is Serpentina in The Golden Pot?
Serpentina is one of three golden green snakes Anselmus sees in the elder tree. She has deep blue eyes, speaks to him in a tinkling voice, and stands for his longing for the poetic, hidden world.
What does a fairy tale from modern times mean here?
Hoffmann sets the marvels in real, contemporary Dresden, with clerks, coffeehouses and city gates, rather than in a faraway kingdom. The point is that wonder can break into everyday life at any moment.
Popular in fairy tales
See all
Free
Free
