In this imaginative novel rooted in the rich soil of early nineteenth century German Romanticism, beloved New York Times bestselling author Gregory Maguire twins an origin legend of the famous Nutcracker with the life of Drosselmeier, the toymaker who carves him.

Hiddensee: An island of white sandy beaches, salt marshes, steep cliffs, and pine forests north of Berlin in the Baltic Sea. Godfather Drosselmeier, a one-eyed toy maker, presents a Nutcracker to Klara, his goddaughter. Klara is a young girl in distress on a dark winter evening ... and everyone however lonely or marginalized, has something precious to share.

"Gregory Maguire returns with an inventive novel inspired by a timeless holiday legend, intertwining the story of the famous Nutcracker with the life of the mysterious toy maker named Drosselmeier who carves him."--Amazon.com.

Hiddensee recreates the backstory of the Nutcracker, reimagining how this creature came to be carved and how it magically guided an ailing little girl through a dreamy paradise one Christmas Eve.