Description

Discover the real story behind Disney’s latest blockbuster adaptation The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, and the iconic Nutcracker Christmas ballet, as told by Alexandre Dumas

‘How could you imagine, silly child, that this toy, which is made of cloth and wood, could possibly be alive?’

The nutcracker doll that mysterious Godfather Drosselmeyer gives to little Marie for Christmas is no ordinary toy. On Christmas Eve, as the clocks strike midnight, Marie watches as the Nutcracker and her entire cabinet of playthings come to life and boldly do battle against the evil Mouse King and his armies.
But this is only the start of the tale.

Read on for enchantment and transformation; enter a world by turns fantastical and sinister, a kingdom of dolls and spun-sugar palaces, and learn the true history of the brave little Nutcracker.

Publisher Review

A family story that everyone can enjoy * Guardian * For all its darkness, [The Nutcracker] appeals to parents and their children because it's like one of those glowing glass globes that you can shake and see the snow swirl. It's a dream bubble, a vision of middle-class happiness and fantasy that precedes the Russian Revolution and all the horrors of the last century and this one. That world may have faded, but it is still our sweetest dream * New York Times * An enduring Christmas classic * Daily Telegraph * Like Hansel And Gretel, The Nutcracker is a slightly dark story, but it s also magical...a world of childhood imagination * Glasgow Herald *