Ludwig Tieck (1773-1853) was part of the Jena early Romantic circle and wrote numerous tales with fairy-tale and fantastical content, an element that receded in his later work in favor of a more realistic portrayal. The three stories collected in this volume, "The Runenberg" about a mysterious forest woman, "The Blonde Eckbert" about a man descending into madness, and the witch story "The Love Spell," belong to Tieck's early work and were created between 1797 and 1811.