4 h 51 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 51 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What would you give for endless gold—and could you bear to live without it?
In Peter Schlemihl, also known as The Shadowless Man, Adelbert von Chamisso introduces a quiet stranger in a grey coat. He offers a young man a purse of endless gold in exchange for his shadow. Peter accepts, but wealth cannot buy the belonging he needs or secure the love he hopes to find.
In Wilhelm Hauff’s The Cold Heart, Peter Munk burns charcoal among the dark pines of the Black Forest. Ashamed of his trade, he longs for money and admiration. The kindly Glass Manikin and the giant timber merchant Dutch Michael offer different paths. One bargain promises wealth and freedom from feeling, but demands a human heart.
What you’ll discover
- A shadow worth more Follow Peter Schlemihl as endless coins expose the limits of what money can give.
- The forest’s dangerous bargains Enter a world of pines, glass furnaces, and spirits whose gifts demand careful choices.
- Loyalty beside temptation Meet Bendel, the practical servant who helps Peter hide the secret of his missing shadow.
- Heroes you can question Find two young men whose longing for wealth makes them easy to like and scold.
- A sharp moral edge Enjoy quick, strange tales that bring dry humour to questions of money, pride, and human worth.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy old German folklore and fairy tales with a moral edge will love these stories. They suit anyone drawn to tales about money, pride, friendship and what makes a person whole.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A grey man buys a shadow for gold
- Without a shadow, gold buys no peace
- A loyal friend shields a secret
- Count Peter and the beauty of the forest
- A servant, a father and a parchment
- A charcoal burner who envies his neighbors
- Three wishes and a ruined glassworks
- A heart of stone and a joyless life
- What the stories say and how they are told
Who’s who
- Peter SchlemihlA poor young man who sells his shadow for a purse of endless gold, then struggles to live among people without it.
- BendelPeter's faithful servant, who learns the secret and shields his master with his own shadow, asking nothing in return.
- MinnaThe Forest Ranger's gentle daughter, who loves Count Peter devotedly and later admits that she has long suspected he has no shadow.
- The man in the grey coatA pale, humble stranger with a bottomless pocket, who buys shadows and wants one more thing in exchange for returning it.
- Peter MunkA young charcoal burner ashamed of his trade, who wants wealth and respect and is ready to trade almost anything for them.
- The GlassmanikinA small, kind forest spirit made of colored glass, who guards treasure and grants three wishes to Sunday children.
- Dutch MichaelA giant raftsman and forest spirit who offers gold in exchange for human hearts and keeps them in glass jars.
- ElspethA kind woodcutter's daughter who marries Peter Munk and cannot stop herself from helping the poor.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print hardcover
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La meravigliosa storia dell’uomo senza ombra e Il cuore freddo
by Adelbert von Chamisso; Wilhelm Hauff
A stranger in a grey coat buys a young man's shadow for a purse that never empties.
Medium level2–5 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
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In short
What would you pay for your own shadow? Peter Schlemihl, a poor young man, sells his to a stranger for a purse that never runs dry.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A grey man buys a shadow for gold
Peter Schlemihl steps off a ship with a letter for a rich merchant, Thomas John. He finds Mr. John in a park, among friends, declaring that a man without a million is a poor wretch. Peter, anxious to please, cries out that this is true.
Then he notices a tall, pale man in an old grey coat. From one small pocket this man draws sticking plaster, a telescope, a Turkish carpet, a full tent and three saddled horses. No one is surprised, and no one thanks him. Peter alone is filled with horror, and he slips away across the lawn.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 3 h 10 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Chamisso, Adelbert von, and Wilhelm Hauff. The Marvellous History of the Shadowless Man, and the Cold Heart. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-marvellous-history-of-the-shadowless-man-and-the-cold-heart.
Chamisso, A. von, & Hauff, W. (2026). The marvellous history of the shadowless man, and the cold heart. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-marvellous-history-of-the-shadowless-man-and-the-cold-heart
Chamisso, Adelbert von, and Wilhelm Hauff. The Marvellous History of the Shadowless Man, and the Cold Heart. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-marvellous-history-of-the-shadowless-man-and-the-cold-heart.
@book{chamisso2026marvellous,
author = {Chamisso, Adelbert von and Hauff, Wilhelm},
title = {The Marvellous History of the Shadowless Man, and the Cold Heart},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-marvellous-history-of-the-shadowless-man-and-the-cold-heart}
}
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What is The Marvellous History of the Shadowless Man about?
It tells of Peter Schlemihl, a young man who sells his shadow to a stranger in a grey coat for a purse that never empties, then discovers how society treats someone who casts no shadow.
What does the shadow mean in Peter Schlemihl?
Chamisso never gave a single answer and joked about those who searched for one. Readers often take it as a sign of belonging, homeland, honor or the solid substance a person needs among other people.
Who are Dutch Michael and the Glassmanikin in The Cold Heart?
They are two forest spirits of Black Forest legend. The Glassmanikin is a small, kind guardian of treasure who grants three wishes, while Dutch Michael is a giant raftsman who offers gold in exchange for a person's heart.
The author
Adelbert von Chamisso
1781–1838 · German poet and botanist
Adelbert von Chamisso (1781–1838) was a German poet and botanist born in France. His family moved to Prussia during the French Revolution. He wrote poems and published Peter Schlemihl’s Miraculous Story in 1814. He joined a scientific voyage around the world from 1815 to 1818. He died in Berlin.
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