Summary
Summary of The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr
The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 9 h 30 min7 h 35 min fast, 11 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 135,900 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1819by E. T. A. Hoffmann
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
Two lives interrupt each other
Murr is a tomcat with ink on his paw and complete faith in his own genius. He writes his life story expecting the world to admire him. But his grand account has an unexpected companion: the biography of Johannes Kreisler, a moody and brilliant composer.
Murr has written on pages torn from that biography, and the texts have been bound together. His memoir breaks off as Kreisler’s life breaks in. The two voices turn vanity and wounded feeling into mirrored tales that mock the rules of proper life.
Key idea 2
Murr makes ordinary life sound grand
Murr cannot remember where he was born, so he chooses an attic: surely a love of heights proves a noble soul.
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Key idea 3
Learning feeds Murr’s belief in genius
Abraham’s writing desk draws Murr toward books, paper and trouble.
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Key idea 4
Kreisler unsettles the polite world
Princess Hedwiga and Julia hear a stranger arguing with his guitar in the park.
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Key idea 5
Loneliness shapes Kreisler’s restless gifts
Asked about his youth, Kreisler first answers with a joke, then calls it a barren heath.
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Key idea 6
The street tests Murr’s fine words
After falling asleep in a cab, Murr wakes in the street, where boys torment him, dogs pursue him, and hunger defeats his grand ideas.
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Key idea 7
Courtly manners hide fear and desire
Prince Hector arrives to marry Hedwiga, and he and Kreisler dislike each other immediately.
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Key idea 8
True art costs more than vanity
The quarrel between artists and Philistines joins the two stories.
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Key idea 9
Ambition has comic and painful sides
A conceited cat works toward becoming a poet, while a composer moves through a court that pretends to grandeur.
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Who it’s for
Readers who enjoy comic narrators, satire of court life, and stories about music and art will find plenty here. It suits anyone who likes a clever animal voice and a portrait of a restless composer.
What this book is
Picture a tomcat on a moonlit rooftop, dipping his paw in ink to write his life story. He is certain he is a genius, and he expects the world to worship him. That is Murr, the narrator of a novel by E. T. A. Hoffmann, published in two volumes in 1819 and 1821.
An editor warns that Murr wrote on pages torn from the biography of Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler, a moody and brilliant composer. Both texts were bound together, so the cat's pompous memoir keeps breaking off mid-sentence. You get two mirrored tales, one vain and very funny, one wounded and witty, and both mock everything that passes for proper life.
In this summary
- 1Two lives interrupt each otherFree
- 2Murr makes ordinary life sound grand
- 3Learning feeds Murr’s belief in genius
- 4Kreisler unsettles the polite world
- 5Loneliness shapes Kreisler’s restless gifts
- 6The street tests Murr’s fine words
- 7Courtly manners hide fear and desire
- 8True art costs more than vanity
- 9Ambition has comic and painful sides
A kitten learns life from claws and milk
Murr begins his life story with a cheer for the sweet habit of existence. He cannot say where he was born, so he chooses the attic, because a love of heights must prove a noble soul. Every grand phrase he borrows from the poets defends a very small cat matter, such as dinner.
His first clear memory is a cramped container with soft walls and a rough hand that seizes him. He shoots out his claws, gets slapped, and draws them back in. Murr calls this his first lesson in cause and effect, and he claims velvet paws came into the world this way.
When his eyes open, he sees Master Abraham, a small thin old man in a bright yellow dressing gown, who feeds him gently. Visitors with stars and crosses on their coats treat the Master with awe, and Murr takes note, since he expects such respect himself. Murr truly feels what he writes, so his pride is both absurd and touching. A voice full of itself can still be warm company.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Check yourself
Why do Murr’s memoir and Kreisler’s biography interrupt each other?
Right. “An editor warns that the cat's pages and the composer's biography have been confused.”Not quite. “An editor warns that the cat's pages and the composer's biography have been confused.”
What does Ponto teach Murr about getting along in the world?
Right. “He explains that charm works better than pride.”Not quite. “He explains that charm works better than pride.”
What separates humor from mockery in Kreisler’s view?
Right. “He says humor springs from deep feeling, while mockery only wounds, and the argument gives the book a warm center under all the satire.”Not quite. “He says humor springs from deep feeling, while mockery only wounds, and the argument gives the book a warm center under all the satire.”
Go deeper: the whole of The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr
About 9 h 50 min to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
Who’s who
- Murr
- A vain, learned tomcat who writes his own life story and wants fame, good food and the love of fair cats.
- Johannes Kreisler
- A gifted, restless Kapellmeister who hides pain behind sharp jokes and longs for a life that fits his music.
- Master Abraham
- An old organ builder and conjurer who rescues Murr, guards Kreisler like a son, and carries a sorrow of his own.
- Julia Benzon
- A gentle, devout young singer who grows up beside the princess and feels herself lifted by Kreisler's music.
- Princess Hedwiga
- A nervous, proud princess haunted by childhood fears, who is promised to a prince from Naples.
- Councillor Benzon
- A cool, clever widow who quietly runs the little court and wants to guide the marriages of the young.
- Prince Irenaeus
- A kindly ruler without a country, who keeps up a pretend court and loves every bit of its ceremony.
- Ponto
- A young poodle who is quick, charming and worldly, and who teaches Murr how to get on in society.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 135,900 words
- Reading timeAbout 9 h 30 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr
What is The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr about?
It follows a vain, literate tomcat who writes his memoirs, while pages of the life of the composer Johannes Kreisler are mixed in. Their stories unfold in a small German court, with comedy, music and love.
Who is Kreisler in the Tomcat Murr?
Johannes Kreisler is a Kapellmeister, a music director and composer, who is gifted, restless and ironic. He leaves a post at a grand ducal court, reaches Sieghartsweiler, and meets Julia, Hedwiga and his old master Abraham.
Why are two stories mixed together in the book?
The preface says the cat wrote on pages from the book about Kreisler, and that both texts were printed together by mistake. The device lets Hoffmann set a comic story and a serious one against each other.
Is the Tomcat Murr a true story, and when was it written?
It is fiction, with a few real names and works mentioned in passing. Hoffmann published the first volume in 1819 and the second in 1821, and he died the next year with the novel unfinished.
Is the Tomcat Murr easy to follow?
Short episodes, a lively cat's voice and clearly marked breaks help a great deal. Each scene stands on its own, with plenty of jokes, songs and duels, so it is easy to dip in and keep going.
Cite this edition
Hoffmann, E. T. A. The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-life-and-opinions-of-the-tomcat-murr.
Hoffmann, E. T. A. (2026). The life and opinions of the tomcat Murr. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-life-and-opinions-of-the-tomcat-murr (Original work published 1819)
Hoffmann, E. T. A. The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-life-and-opinions-of-the-tomcat-murr.
@book{hoffmann2026life,
author = {Hoffmann, E. T. A.},
title = {The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-life-and-opinions-of-the-tomcat-murr},
note = {First published 1819}
}
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