Washington Irving Books

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Washington Irving (1783 - 1859) was a diplomat, a lawyer and prolific essayist, biographer, and short story author, whose most famous works included “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip van Winkle.” One of the first American authors to become famous in Europe, Irving traveled extensively abroad, including to the American frontier, where he became an advocate for the fair treatment of Native Americans.

In addition to his fiction, Irving wrote acclaimed biographies of George Washington, Christopher Columbus and Muhammad, as well as a critical history of Spanish subjects such as the Moors and the Alhambra. Irving's work and tuteledge are cited as a major influences by such acclaimed writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His famous home Sunnyside, in Tarrytown, New York, as well as the Old Dutch Burying Ground in Sleepy Hollow, New York, can still be visited today. For the complete works of Washington Irving, click here.

REVIEWS

• I grabbed this for the Kindle since it was free, and like the previous reviewer, I only had a vague idea of the story from various cartoon versions.

I was very pleasantly surprised. I've not read anything else by Washington Irving. The story is simple; the prose is easy to read but in spots is downright beautiful. Some of the scenic descriptions border on poetry. Irving writes with a dry sense of humor; and he has faith in the reader's ability to connect the dots, so he doesn't spell everything out.

It's a short read - in print I guess it would be 30 to 40 pages. One GREAT thing about reading it on Kindle is having the dictionary function, as there were a number of archaic terms with which I was not familiar.

I give it 5 stars for the combination of price and quality of writing. If you'd like some good writing, a peek into America (upstate New York) at the end of the 18th century, and a little wit, go ahead and grab it - especially if it's free!

• Up to this point I had only seen the Disney cartoon the Legend of Sleepy Hallow which I loved as a kid. The story was very well written and I got caught up in the words and transported to Sleepy Hallow.

• You must remember the cartoon, the flaming jack-o-lantern hurled at poor Ichabod. Or the movie with Johnny Depp? There are many adaptations, but there is only one original, and this is it.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow & Rip Van Winkle

REVIEWS

• Sleepy Hollow. The name sends chills down my spine. I never really had an interest in the legend until the new movie. Now I love it. I read this book in the early hours of Thanksgiving morning. Loved it! It's short, descriptive, and exciting all at once. Advice for those who do read it: don't do it late at night like me. You won't be able to sleep!

• It is so cool i would let my parents do anything to me to get me that book. i would recommend it to everyone in the world. i love the book -i don't care if people think im crazy over it. it is so cool & i have seen both of the moives.

• Have you ever heard of the Headless Horseman? Have you ever heard the stories about him and how he attacks people in the woods? Have you ever wondered whether or not the story is real?

Find out for yourself by reading Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I enjoyed reading this book and i think anyone who has a liking for mysterious legends and superstitions should read this book beacause of the interesting legend the town believes in. There are few characters to keep track of and the story is not hard to follow. The book is long but the reading goes quickly.

The story is set in the late 18th century in a town in New York called Sleepy Hollow. The town believes in a legend of a headless horseman who rides through the woods at night anf attacks people. The main character is a man named Ichabod Crane who is a schoolteacher from Connecticut. He moves to Sleepy Hollow in search of work and ends up going from home to home working as a tutor. One of his students is 18 year old Katrina Van Tassel who comes from a wealthy family. Ichabod gets the idea that he will try to marry Katrina in order to obtain the family's wealth. However, Katrina's boyfriend Abraham "Brom Bones" Brut has other plans for Ichabod. As the tension rises, Ichabod continues trying to win Katrina until a breathtaking surprise appearance by the town's legend creates as mysterious an ending as they come.

The book has many strengths and few weaknesses. The author manages to create a mood in the book that keeps you always on th edge of your seat waiting for the legend of the Headless Horseman to come into play. The story is simple and easy to follow but is still very interesting. The characters are developed well and have personalities that you can understand and relate to. One such character is Brom Bones who is easily seen as an arrogant egotist. The only weakness of the book was one based on my personal opinion. The end of the story leaves too much to be concluded for my liking.

All in all, this book was a great story. The author wrote the characters in such a way that you had definite feelings towards each one of them. Also, the story line was definitely not without surprise. But if you want to discover what surprises I am talking about then I suggest you read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

• Actually, I personally think the story is not as attracting as I have imagined before reading. But what kept me continuing reading from the cover to the end? Curiosity! The vivid and animated description often made me laugh, and I seemed to see the scene that is just before my eyes!The author`s precise and elaborate description and his master composing technique is what we can learn from. Though the story is told in the third person, but as if we are told by an intimate friend. I love this story, and also the charming place!

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