Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

by Washington Irving

Other authorsWilliam L. Hedges (Introduction)

Paperback, 1999

Status

Available

Call number

818.207

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

Penguin Classics (1999), Paperback, 368 pages

Description

"The timeless collection that introduced Rip Van Winkle, Ichabod Crane, and the Headless Horseman Perhaps the marker of a true mythos is when the stories themselves overshadow their creator. Originally published under a pseudonym as The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories gave America its own haunted mythology. This collection of larger-than-life tales contains Washington Irving's best-known literary inventions-Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman, and Rip Van Winkle-that continue to capture our imaginations today"--

User reviews

LibraryThing member TheTwoDs

While most readers will be familiar with "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", the various less known works collected here are fascinating in the portraits they produce of life in England (Irving's residence at the time of writing and publication). In particular, the Christmas

sketches clearly influenced Dickens's own Christmas tales. One of my favorites, which should also be of interest to other members of LibraryThing, is "The Mutability of Literature" in which Mr. Irving visits the library at Westminster Abbey, is dismayed the books seem to be solely collected but not read and is then startled when he takes on old tome off the shelf, opens it, and it coughs and begins talking to him. The book seems unwilling to believe that it is no longer popular, as it was well-liked in its time (hundreds of years ago). It's a very interesting way of making the point that tastes in literature change as the years, and centuries, go by. All in all, there are very few sketches that disappointed me, most provided at least some entertainment or interesting ideas, which, according to the appendixes Irving added to his editions, was his intent.

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LibraryThing member arelenriel

I loved the tales of Washington Irving as a chld. I had no idea that he was also a funny and witty essayist as well.

LibraryThing member figre

This is a surprisingly eclectic collection of short stories, essays, images, and general writings. As such, it is hard to get a handle on any flow to the collection. However, this is exactly the collection Irving put together in the 1840’s (in exactly the order with exactly the content that he

intended so, if I don’t like his approach to the collection, I guess it’s a little late to file a complaint.) All that being said, it is an excellent selection of Irving’s writings.

If for nothing else, pick this collection up to read the original “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. These have been retold and re-imagined so many times it is nice to go back to the basic simplicity of the originals. But your time will not be wasted reading the remainder of the selections. At times Irving is maudlin (more a sign of the times than a comment on his skills) and at other times the scenes are snippets that have no staying power. But at all times, it is apparent why Irving was so popular, just as it is apparent how skilled a writer he was. The prose can turn a little purple, but the overall effect is still good. (A quick aside: One strange thing [to me]; Irving is considered the quintessential American writer, yet many of these pieces [very many of these pieces] are about England.)

The collection is classic partly because it is from a classic writer (somewhat self-fulfilling, that.) But it becomes quickly evident why Irving is held with such high esteem.

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