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Washington Irving (1783–1859)

Author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [short story]

781+ Works 27,001 Members 420 Reviews 30 Favorited

About the Author

Washington Irving, one of the first Americans to achieve international recognition as an author, was born in New York City in 1783. His A History of New York, published in 1809 under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker, was a satirical history of New York that spanned the years from 1609 to 1664. show more Under another pseudonym, Geoffrey Crayon, he wrote The Sketch-book, which included essays about English folk customs, essays about the American Indian, and the two American stories for which he is most renowned--"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle." Irving served as a member of the U.S. legation in Spain from 1826 to 1829 and as minister to Spain from 1842 to 1846. Following his return to the U.S. in 1846, he began work on a five-volume biography of Washington that was published from 1855-1859. Washington Irving died in 1859 in New York. show less
Image credit: Washington Irving, circa 1860-1865

Works by Washington Irving

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [short story] (1819) 5,035 copies, 144 reviews
The Alhambra (1832) 2,921 copies, 44 reviews
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [and] Rip van Winkle (1820) 1,969 copies, 32 reviews
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (1819) 1,744 copies, 23 reviews
Rip van Winkle [short story] (1820) — Author — 1,568 copies, 24 reviews
Knickerbocker's History of New York (1809) 498 copies, 4 reviews
History, Tales, and Sketches (1983) 473 copies, 1 review
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales (1987) 458 copies, 5 reviews
Old Christmas (1875) 431 copies, 14 reviews
The Complete Tales of Washington Irving (1975) 342 copies, 1 review
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1992) 284 copies, 1 review
Bracebridge Hall (1822) 173 copies, 4 reviews
A Tour on the Prairies (1835) 160 copies, 4 reviews
Life and voyages of Christopher Columbus (1828) 157 copies, 7 reviews
Tales of a Traveller (1824) 148 copies, 1 review
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories (1964) 143 copies, 3 reviews
The Adventures of Captain Bonneville (1837) 131 copies, 2 reviews
Mahomet and his successors (1985) 127 copies, 3 reviews
The Life of George Washington (1975) 113 copies, 1 review
Sleepy Hollow and other short stories (2017) 111 copies, 1 review
Scary Stories (2006) 109 copies, 1 review
Life of Oliver Goldsmith (1864) 70 copies
The Devil and Tom Walker (2007) 67 copies, 4 reviews
Life of George Washington - Volume 01 (2005) 55 copies, 1 review
The sketch book (2015) 52 copies
Classics Illustrated #11: Rip Van Winkle (1819) 35 copies, 1 review
Selected Prose (2000) 34 copies
Rip van Winkle (Derrydale Fairy Tale Library) (1819) — Author — 32 copies
The Life of George Washington Book 2 (2005) 30 copies, 2 reviews
The Life Of George Washington, Vol. 3 (2005) 27 copies, 1 review
Rip Van Winkle [and] Gulliver's Travels (1992) — Author — 25 copies
Salmagundi (2012) 25 copies, 1 review
Christmas at Bracebridge Hall (1974) 22 copies, 1 review
The Life of George Washington - 4 of 4 (2005) 21 copies, 1 review
The Crayon Papers (2007) 20 copies
Abbotsford and Newstead Abbey (2007) 20 copies, 1 review
The Crayon miscellany (1979) 17 copies
The Life Of George Washington, Vol. 5 (2018) 15 copies, 2 reviews
Legend of Sleepy Hollow & Other Tales (2006) 14 copies, 1 review
The Headless Horseman (2012) 13 copies
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1994) 13 copies
Spanish papers (1979) 10 copies
Old Christmas [and] Bracebridge Hall (2009) 9 copies, 1 review
The Moorish Chronicles (1996) 8 copies
La frontera salvaje (2018) 8 copies
Little Britain (2017) 8 copies
Rip Van Winkle (1992) — Author — 7 copies
Astoria, Volume 2 (2012) 6 copies
Dolph Heyliger (2011) 6 copies
Tales of a Traveler v. 2 (1895) 6 copies
An Evening with Irving (1927) 6 copies
Relatos de Fantasmas (Coleccion Eclipse) (2010) 6 copies, 1 review
Irving 6 copies
Rural Life In England (2002) 5 copies, 2 reviews
Tales of a Traveller (2008) 5 copies
Uykulu Kuytu Söylencesi (2018) 4 copies
Wolfert's Roost (2018) 4 copies
Christmas Day 4 copies
Stories of the Hudson (1984) 4 copies
SONG OF HIAWATHA/LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW (1922) — Author — 3 copies
Finché morte non vi separi (2019) 3 copies, 1 review
Tales 3 copies
The Wife (1998) 3 copies
Life of Washington book 4 2 copies, 1 review
A viagem (1997) 2 copies
The Sketch Book vol II (1895) 2 copies
Die Legende von Sleepy Hollow und andere Erzählungen (2013) — Contributor — 2 copies
The Art of Book-Making 2 copies, 1 review
The Stage Coach (1998) 2 copies
Uykulu Kuytu Söylencesi (2018) 2 copies
Reviews and miscellanies (2016) 2 copies
The voyage (1998) 2 copies
The Alhambra vol. 2 (1997) 2 copies
The Author's Account of Himself (1998) 2 copies, 2 reviews
The angler 2 copies
American Short Stories (1991) 2 copies
Sagor från Alhambra (2022) 1 copy
Roscoe (1998) 1 copy
Washington Irving (2017) 1 copy
Kolm ameerika juttu (1992) 1 copy
The Alhambra Volume 2 (2010) 1 copy
cuentos_de_la_alhambra (1998) 1 copy
Afsanah-i Islipi Halu (2017) 1 copy
Journal, 1803 (1934) 1 copy
The Broken Heart (2010) 1 copy
Three American Stories (2002) 1 copy
Histoires de fantômes (2010) 1 copy
Astoria & Salmagundi (1900) 1 copy
Life of Washington Vol. I 1 copy, 1 review
The Headless Horseman (2020) 1 copy
Ghost Island (1969) 1 copy
L'héritage du More (2016) 1 copy
Irving Stories (2016) 1 copy
Priče iz Alhambre (1988) 1 copy
The Irving Gift (1852) 1 copy
Abu Hassan 1 copy
Stories 1 copy

Associated Works

The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction (1976) — Contributor — 1,214 copies, 3 reviews
The Oxford Book of American Short Stories (1992) — Contributor — 837 copies, 3 reviews
Sleepy Hollow [1999 film] (1999) — Original story — 672 copies, 7 reviews
Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror (2014) — Contributor — 588 copies, 1 review
Great American Short Stories (1957) — Contributor — 551 copies, 3 reviews
American Gothic Tales (William Abrahams) (1996) — Contributor — 524 copies, 5 reviews
American Supernatural Tales (2007) — Contributor — 519 copies, 5 reviews
100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories (1993) — Contributor — 497 copies, 4 reviews
Fifty Great American Short Stories (1965) — Contributor — 479 copies, 3 reviews
Great Ghost Stories (1985) — Contributor — 436 copies, 8 reviews
The Headless Horseman (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3) (1992) — Original Story — 390 copies, 3 reviews
Ghosts: A Treasury of Chilling Tales Old & New (1981) — Contributor — 367 copies, 2 reviews
Diane Goode's American Christmas (1990) — Contributor — 349 copies, 3 reviews
The Fireside Book of Christmas Stories (1945) — Contributor — 335 copies, 3 reviews
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [graphic novel] (2004) 326 copies, 6 reviews
75 Short Masterpieces: Stories from the World's Literature (1961) — Contributor — 317 copies, 2 reviews
A Subtreasury of American Humor (1941) — Contributor — 307 copies, 3 reviews
Writing New York: A Literary Anthology (1998) — Contributor — 300 copies, 4 reviews
The Treasury of American Short Stories (1981) — Contributor — 294 copies, 1 review
American Fantastic Tales : Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps (2009) — Contributor — 290 copies, 4 reviews
From the Tower Window (My Book House) (1932) — Contributor — 288 copies, 1 review
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad [1949 film] (1949) — Original story — 283 copies, 2 reviews
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume 1 (1990) — Contributor, some editions — 252 copies, 1 review
Stories That Never Grow Old (1938) — Contributor — 232 copies, 5 reviews
Russell Baker's Book of American Humor (1993) — Contributor — 226 copies
The Big Book of Classic Fantasy (2019) — Contributor — 223 copies, 3 reviews
Murder on the Menu: Cordon Bleu Stories of Crime and Mystery, Volume 1 (1984) — Contributor — 211 copies, 2 reviews
The Penguin Book of American Short Stories (1969) — Contributor — 209 copies, 1 review
Great Stories of the Sea & Ships (1940) — Contributor — 196 copies
Chilling Ghost Short Stories (2015) — Contributor — 195 copies, 1 review
Stories to Remember {complete} (1956) — Contributor — 184 copies, 1 review
Stories to Remember, Volume 1 (1956) — Contributor — 177 copies, 3 reviews
100 Eternal Masterpieces of Literature, Volume 1 (2017) — Contributor — 175 copies
Classic American Short Stories [Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics] (2001) — Contributor — 175 copies, 1 review
101 Chilling Tales Great Horror Stories (2016) — Contributor — 171 copies
Great Ghost Stories: 101 Terrifying Tales (2016) — Contributor — 165 copies
Great Short Stories of the World (1925) — Contributor — 163 copies, 1 review
A Literary Christmas: An Anthology (2013) — Contributor — 160 copies, 5 reviews
An Anthology of Famous American Stories (1953) — Contributor — 155 copies, 1 review
The Book of Love (1998) — Contributor — 151 copies
Bedtime Stories (2011) — Contributor — 150 copies, 5 reviews
Once Upon a Time: The Fairy Tale World of Arthur Rackham (1972) — Contributor — 136 copies, 5 reviews
Haunted America: Star-Spangled Supernatural Stories (1990) — Contributor — 131 copies, 1 review
Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales (2017) — Contributor — 119 copies
American Short Stories [Pearson Longman] (1976) — Contributor, some editions — 106 copies
An ABC of Science Fiction (1809) — Contributor — 105 copies, 1 review
The Art of Sleepy Hollow (1999) — Original book — 100 copies, 1 review
American Fantastic Tales: Boxed Set (2009) — Contributor — 97 copies, 2 reviews
Best Shorts: Favorite Stories for Sharing (2006) — Contributor — 97 copies, 6 reviews
The American Fantasy Tradition (2002) — Contributor — 95 copies, 2 reviews
Rip Van Winkle (1999) — some editions — 95 copies, 1 review
Great Short Stories of the Masters (1995) — Contributor — 93 copies, 1 review
The Treasury of the Fantastic (2001) — Contributor — 89 copies, 3 reviews
From the Tower Window (1921) — Contributor — 89 copies, 2 reviews
Best in Children's Books 19 (1959) 87 copies
Charles Keeping's Book of Classic Ghost Stories (1986) — Contributor — 86 copies, 1 review
World's Great Adventure Stories (1929) — Contributor — 83 copies
Disney Scary Storybook Collection [2003] (2003) — Contributor — 82 copies, 1 review
Swords & Steam Short Stories (Gothic Fantasy) (2016) — Contributor — 82 copies, 1 review
The Big Book of Rogues and Villains (2017) — Contributor — 80 copies, 3 reviews
200 Years of Great American Short Stories (1975) — Contributor — 78 copies, 1 review
The Bedside Book of Famous American Stories (1936) — Contributor — 78 copies
The Vampyre and Other Macabre Tales (2012) — Contributor — 77 copies
Over the Rainbow Tales of Fantasy and Imagination (1983) — Contributor — 76 copies
Great Ghost Stories (1936) — Contributor — 76 copies, 1 review
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Concise Edition (2003) — Contributor — 73 copies, 1 review
Faerie Tale Theatre: The Complete Collection (1982) — Original story — 72 copies
Rod Serling’s Devils and Demons (1967) — Contributor — 71 copies
The Folio Christmas Book (2000) 71 copies
Tales to Tremble By (1966) — Contributor — 71 copies, 5 reviews
Masters of the Macabre (1999) — Contributor — 70 copies
65 Great Tales of the Supernatural (1979) — Contributor — 69 copies, 4 reviews
The Best American Mystery Stories of the 19th Century (2014) — Contributor — 67 copies, 1 review
Great American Short Stories (1977) — Contributor — 65 copies
Classic Travel Stories (1994) — Contributor — 65 copies
Colonial Horrors (2017) — Contributor — 63 copies
The Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith (2012) — Editor, some editions — 62 copies
100 Hilarious Little Howlers (1999) — Contributor — 60 copies
Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle [Adapted - All Aboard Reading] (1997) — Original Story by — 57 copies
The Portable Romantic Reader (1957) — Contributor — 56 copies
Great Ghost Stories: Tales of Mystery and Madness (2004) — Contributor — 56 copies
The Oxford Book of Sea Stories (1994) — Contributor — 56 copies, 1 review
The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories 2 (1991) — Contributor — 55 copies
Greatest Short Stories, Volume 1: American (1915) — Contributor — 54 copies
American Gothic Short Stories (2019) — Contributor — 53 copies
Pearl S. Buck's Book of Christmas (1974) — Contributor — 51 copies, 1 review
The Mammoth Book of Thrillers, Ghosts and Mysteries (1936) — Contributor — 50 copies, 1 review
The Faber Book of Christmas (1996) — Contributor — 50 copies, 1 review
A Century of Humour (1935) — Contributor — 49 copies
Realms of Darkness (1985) — Contributor — 48 copies, 1 review
The nightmare reader, volume one (1973) — Contributor — 48 copies, 2 reviews
The Signet Classic Book of Contemporary American Short Stories (1985) — Contributor — 47 copies, 1 review
Prose and Poetry for Appreciation (1934) — Contributor — 45 copies
Red Skelton's Favorite Ghost Stories (1965) — Contributor — 44 copies
Best Loved Short Stories of Nineteenth Century America (2003) — Contributor — 42 copies
Anthology of Fear (1988) — Contributor — 42 copies, 2 reviews
Selected English Short Stories (First Series) (1914) — Contributor — 41 copies
American Fiction (2010) — Contributor — 40 copies
France in Mind (2003) — Contributor — 36 copies, 1 review
The Seventh Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1971) — Contributor — 35 copies, 1 review
Famous and Curious Animal Stories (1982) — Contributor — 34 copies, 2 reviews
A Skeleton at the Helm (2008) — Contributor — 33 copies, 1 review
The Lock and Key Library (Volume 9: American) (2007) — Contributor — 33 copies, 1 review
Short Stories [Great American Writers] (1989) — Contributor — 32 copies, 1 review
American Short Stories of the Nineteenth Century (1930) — Contributor — 31 copies
American Gothic: An Anthology 1787–1916 (1999) — Contributor — 29 copies
The Great Book of Thrillers (1935) — Contributor — 29 copies
Great Short Stories of the World: 30 Classic Tales (1991) — Contributor — 29 copies
21 Essential American Short Stories (2011) — Contributor — 28 copies, 1 review
Short Story Classics [American], Volume 1 (1905) — Contributor — 28 copies
American Short Stories: 1820 to the Present (1952) — Contributor — 28 copies
The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow [2013 TV short] (2013) — Original story — 26 copies
Great Short Stories Volume 2: Ghost Stories (2009) — Contributor — 26 copies
Walt Kelly's Fairy Tales (2015) — Contributor — 25 copies
American Literature: The Makers and the Making (In Two Volumes) (1973) — Contributor, some editions — 25 copies
The Great Book of Humour (1935) — Contributor — 24 copies, 1 review
Celebrating Christmas Around the World (1962) — Contributor — 22 copies
Stories to Remember: Literary Heritage Series (1967) — Contributor — 22 copies
The Greatest American Short Stories: Twenty Classics of Our Heritage (1953) — Contributor — 21 copies, 1 review
Back from the Dead (1991) — Contributor — 19 copies
Great Narrative Essays (1968) — Contributor — 19 copies
Great Short Novels of the World (1927) — Contributor — 19 copies
Humorous American Short Stories [Dover Thrift] (2013) — Contributor — 18 copies
Classic Fantasy Stories (2024) — Contributor — 18 copies
Lost Souls Short Stories (Gothic Fantasy) (2018) — Contributor — 18 copies
Tales of the Occult (1975) — Contributor — 18 copies
The Family Reader of American Masterpieces (1959) — Contributor — 17 copies
Opowieści fantastyczne (1979) — Contributor — 17 copies
International Short Stories, Volume 1: American Stories (1910) — Contributor; Contributor — 15 copies
The Harper Book of Princes (2000) — Contributor — 15 copies
Law in Action: An Anthology of the Law in Literature (1947) — Contributor — 15 copies
Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories: American (1908) — Contributor — 15 copies, 1 review
Famous Tales of the Fantastic (2012) — Contributor — 15 copies, 2 reviews
Uncanny Tales 1 (1974) — Contributor — 13 copies
Story to Anti-Story (1979) — Contributor — 13 copies
Great Short Stories from the World's Literature (1950) — Contributor — 13 copies
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [1949 short film] (1949) — Original story — 12 copies
Dark Holidays: A Collection of Ghost Stories (2006) — Contributor — 11 copies, 1 review
Great Classic Hauntings: Six Unabridged Stories (Audio Editions Mystery Masters) (2000) — Contributor, some editions — 11 copies, 2 reviews
Selected English short stories XIX & XX centuries (1948) — Contributor — 11 copies
The Arabian Horse in Fact, Fantasy and Fiction (1959) — Contributor — 11 copies
Tales of the Undead: Vampires and Visitants (1947) — Contributor, some editions — 10 copies, 1 review
Thin Air (1966) — Contributor — 10 copies
Great Classic Ghost Stories: Sixteen Unabridged Classics (2011) — Contributor — 7 copies, 2 reviews
Relatos cortos de fantasmas (1997) — Contributor — 7 copies
The Story Survey (1939) — Contributor — 7 copies
A Treasury of Great Short Stories — Contributor — 7 copies
The Wimbourne Book of Victorian Ghost Stories: Volume 4 (2019) — Contributor — 7 copies
The Classic Humor Megapack: 45 Short Stories and Poems (2013) — Contributor — 6 copies
Rip Van Winkle [1987 Faerie Tale Theatre TV episode] (1987) — Original story — 6 copies
Tall Tales & Legends [1985 TV series] (1985) — Original story — 5 copies
American Short Stories [Globe Book Co.] (1966) — Contributor — 5 copies, 1 review
Representative American Short Stories — Contributor — 5 copies, 1 review
Themes in American Literature (1972) — Contributor — 5 copies
Famous Stories of Five Centuries (1934) — Contributor — 4 copies
Berni Wrightson: Master of the Macabre # 4 (1984) — Author — 4 copies, 1 review
Maggie, a Girl of the Streets and Other Stories (1958) — Contributor — 3 copies, 1 review
The Boys' Book of the West (2005) — Contributor — 3 copies
The New Roger Caras Treasury of Great Horse Stories (1999) — Contributor — 3 copies
The Nineteenth Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1983) — Contributor — 3 copies
The Nightmare Reader (1973) — Contributor — 2 copies
Christmas Short Works Collection 2020 (2020) — Contributor — 2 copies
Historier fra de syv have — Author, some editions — 2 copies, 1 review
Husbands and Lovers (1949) — Contributor — 2 copies, 1 review
Representative Modern Short Stories. (1936) — Contributor — 2 copies
Classic Tales of Ghosts and Vampires, Volume 2 (2007) — Contributor — 2 copies
Enjoying Stories (1987) — Contributor — 2 copies
Tales of Two Countries (1955) — Contributor — 2 copies
The Headless Horseman [1934 short film] (1934) — Original story — 2 copies
Upiorny Narzeczony I Inne Opowieści Z Dreszczykiem (1967) — Contributor — 1 copy
Classic Tales [2008 TV series] (2008) — Contributor — 1 copy
American Short Stories [Liberty] (2018) — Contributor — 1 copy
Christmas Short Works Collection 2022 (2022) — Contributor — 1 copy
Faerie Tale Theatre: Season 6 (1987) — Original story — 1 copy
The Best of America: Seven Classic Short Stories (2012) — Contributor — 1 copy
Short Stories Retold - Book 1 — Contributor — 1 copy
A Book of Short Stories (1914) — Contributor — 1 copy
LibriVox Short Ghost and Horror Collection 021 (2013) — Contributor — 1 copy
Amerikanische Kurzgeschichten (2015) — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

19th century (353) American (203) American literature (651) biography (187) classic (519) classic literature (94) classics (759) ebook (148) essays (120) fantasy (245) fiction (1,941) folklore (104) ghosts (134) gothic (94) Halloween (132) history (302) horror (435) Kindle (151) Library of America (173) literature (631) New York (135) non-fiction (132) read (110) short stories (818) Spain (262) to-read (722) travel (185) unread (98) USA (106) Washington Irving (134)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Irving, Washington
Other names
Crayon, Geoffrey
Knickerbocker, Diedrich
Oldstyle, Jonathan
Ървинг, Уошингтън
अर्विंग, वाशिंग्टन
Birthdate
1783-04-03
Date of death
1859-11-28
Gender
male
Education
law offices of Henry Masterson
Judge Josiah Ogden Hoffman
Occupations
lawyer
editor
novelist
short story writer
essayist
historian (show all 8)
U.S. ambassador (Spain)
diplomat
Organizations
State Bar of New York (1806)
New York State Militia
Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York
Awards and honors
Royal Society of Literature, Gold Medal (1830)
American Philosophical Society (1829)
Member, Real Academia de la Historia (Spain)
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1855)
The Hall of Fame for Great Americans (1900)
Honorary Doctorate, Civil Law, Oxford University (1831) (show all 8)
Honorary Academician, National Academy of Design (1841)
Honorary Doctorate of Law, Harvard University (1833)
Agent
Henry Brevoort (USA), Ebenezer Irving (USA), Thomas Aspinwall (UK)
Relationships
Irving, Pierre (nephew)
Short biography
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820). His historical works include biographies of Oliver Goldsmith, Muhammad and George Washington, as well as several histories of 15th-century Spain.

Irving served as ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. He made his literary debut in 1802 with a series of observational letters to the Morning Chronicle, written under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle. He moved to England for the family business in 1815. He continued to publish regularly throughout his life.
Cause of death
heart attack
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
New York, New York, USA
Places of residence
London, Middlesex, England, UK
Granada, Spain
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK
Paris, Île-de-France, France
Tarrytown, New York, USA
New York, New York, USA
Place of death
Tarrytown, New York, USA
Burial location
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Tarrytown, New York, USA
Map Location
USA

Members

Discussions

Washington Irving Appreciation in Easton Press Collectors (September 2024)
Mystery storys book? in Name that Book (November 2023)

Reviews

493 reviews
I have to say that re-reading this as an adult is a much different and more wonderful experience than as a snot-nosed kid of 15. I was able to appreciate the nuances much more, enjoying just how established Mr. Crane could be as a realistic and sympathetic character, even if he was slightly foolish.

In other words, he felt real, I felt invested, and as any lover of horror knows, we must also feel superior to our victims before their inevitable and somewhat moralistic demise by supernatural or show more nefarious deeds.

Now, whether this was a mortal practical joke played on a lover of the fantastic and the horrible or whether this was actually a real-life ghost story, as the Dutch Wives would insist, is a matter for debate.

Either way, it was nice and ghoulish and ramped up perfectly to a thrown screaming head. :)

Quick tale, fascinating, and expertly described. :) And an eternal Halloween Treat. :)
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow still has the power to connect readers with memories of the Revolutionary War era that lingered into the 19th century. Reduced to its essential elements, it's the story of a classic love triangle. Which suitor will the lovely Katrina Von Tussell choose – brawny bad boy Brom Bones or nerdy schoolmaster Ichabod Crane? It's what Washington Irving does with the story that makes it so much fun. His descriptions of Ichabod Crane's appearance*, the school room, food, show more Sleepy Hollow, and, of course, the Headless Horseman are so detailed that you can easily conjure up mental images. The undertone of sarcasm lets you know just how seriously to take the story. Other than some jarring racial stereotypes, the story holds up well almost 200 years later.

*Speaking of Ichabod Crane's appearance, I wonder if Cooper might have borrowed from Irving in creating David Gamut's character in The Last of the Mohicans?
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In honor of Hallowe'en, I read (re-read?) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, and what a treat it was. Naturally, I sorta kinda knew the story, but if I had actually read it before, it must have been when I was in 7th grade, or thereabouts, and under orders. It is very well done, full of wicked humor and my copy (OK, my daughter's copy) marvelously illustrated. Irving's descriptions are outstanding, and no more flowery than befits the 19th century. "...the sky was clear and show more serene, and nature wore that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance...some trees of the tenderer kind had been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet. Streaming files of wild ducks began to make their appearance high in the air; the bark of the squirrel might be heard from the groves of beech and hickory, and the pensive whistle of the quail at intervals from the neighboring stubble- field." Picture the lank and bony Ichabod Crane, a terror to young scholars in the classroom, ingratiating himself with their parents (who lodged and boarded him, turn-about, a week at a time) by helping with farm chores and minding the younger children--"he would sit with a child on one knee, and rock a cradle with his foot for whole hours together." And then, of course, he put himself crosswise of the formidable Brom Bones, when they each set their caps for Katrina Van Tassel, the "blooming lass of fresh eighteen; plump as a partridge; ripe and melting and rosy-cheeked as one of her father's peaches" (I say, Wash, take a cool dip in the stream!). Well, we know how Brom decided to eliminate the competition, now don't we? Fine stuff.
10-31-2017
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Many a year since I had read this one and I found I liked it better than I had remembered. Who wouldn't appreciate the descriptive powers of Washington Irving:

On all sides he beheld vast store of apples; some hanging in oppressive opulence on the trees; some gathered into baskets and barrels for the market; others heaped up in rich piles for the cider-press. Father on he beheld great fields of Indian corn, with its golden ears peeping from their leafy coverts, and holding out the promise of show more cakes and hasty-pudding; and the yellow pumpkins lying beneath them, turning up their fair round bellies to the sun, and giving ample prospects of the most luxurious of pies; and anon he passed the fragrant buckwheat fields breathing the odor of the beehive, and as he beheld them, soft anticipations stole over his mind of dainty slapjacks, well buttered, and garnished with honey or treacle...

I could see the bounty, I could taste the honey, I could feel the cool Autumn breezes and feel the golden sun. Writing that endures.
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Ralph Adams Cram Contributor
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Louisa May Alcott Contributor
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Randolph Caldecott Illustrator
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geoffroyalain Translator
Alex Wilson Narrator
Jerry Robbins Narrator
Margaret Armstrong Illustrator
Idoia Iribertegui Illustrator
R. W. Alley Illustrator
George Ross Illustrator
Steve Skelton Illustrator
Alan Munro Narrator
Joseph Pennell Illustrator
Warwick Goble Illustrator
Barry Moser Illustrator
Boris Karloff Narrator
Curtiss Sprague Illustrator
Perry Miller Afterword
James G. Teason Illustrator
H. L. Elvin Translator
Everett Shinn Illustrator
Ty Coker Narrator
John Howe Illustrator
Henrik V. Ringsted Introduction
Jennifer Donnelly Introduction
Peter Norberg Introduction
Don Freeman Lithographer
Farjana Yasmin Cover artist, designer, & letterer
Jakob Gunnarsson Translator
Robert Fass Narrator
Tithi Luadthong Cover artist
Tom Shelton Narrator
Emily Eiden Narrator
Andrew Eiden Narrator

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