The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle - Softcover

Irving, Washington

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1935786466 ISBN 13: 9781935786467

Publisher: Saint Clair Publications, 2013

Synopsis

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is set in 1790 around the countryside the Dutch settlement of Tarryton, New York. Lanky and supertitious schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, has just moved there from Connecticut. He finds himself romantically attracted to 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a wealthy farmer. But his interest is hampered by another suiter called "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, who is only after her for her inheritence. The tention between them comes to a head, and Crane is persued by a mystical "Headless Horseman." Enchanting for new readers, great for a colector's item. Set in the Catskills of New York prior to the American Revolution, the kindly Rip Van Winkle, is a colonial British-American villager of Dutch descent. He is a lover of the country and visits town often, where he enjoys entertaining children with stories and gifts. But his downfall is his slothfulness, and his farm goes to pot. To escape his nagging wife, one day in the autumn he wanders into the mountains with his dog, Wolf. A man dressed in old Dutch clothing asks his help in carrying a keg up the steep slope. Arriving at an amphitheatre-like hollow, he finds a group of ornately dressed, bearded men playing nine-pins. Though silence prevails, Rip begins to drink their liquoir and falls asleep. When he awakes he discovers that he also now has a foot-long white beard, and Wolf is nowhere to be found. Returning to his village, there is no one whom he recognizes. He finds out that his wife has died and many of his friends are off at war. He has slept for twenty years! Just as interesting as ever! Both of these classic short stories first appeared in Irving's book "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." Because of these he was one of the first American authors to achieve fame in Europe in 1819.

About this title

About the Author

Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) His parents were William Irving, Sr., originally of Quholm, Shapinsay, Orkney, and Sarah (née Sanders), Scottish-English immigrants. The Irving family settled in Manhattan, New York City, and was part of the city's small, vibrant merchant class when he was born. An uninterested student, Irving preferred adventure stories and drama and, by age fourteen, was regularly sneaking out of class in the evenings to attend the theater. The 1798 outbreak of yellow fever in Manhattan and Irving was dispatched to stay with his friend James Kirke Paulding in Tarrytown, New York, where he became familiar with the nearby town of Sleepy Hollow, with its quaint Dutch customs and local ghost stories, which inspired these yarns. He began writing at 19, toured in Europe from 1804 to 1806, then returned to New York to study law, barely passing the bar. He became not only became an author, but an essayist, biographer and historian. He is best known for the short stories included in this book: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, both of which first appeared in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Because of these he was one of the first American authors to achieve fame in Europe in 1819. His historical works include biographies of George Washington, Oliver Goldsmith and Muhammad, as well as several histories of 15th-century Spain dealing with subjects such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors, and the Alhambra. Irving also served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846.

About this edition

• Publisher: Saint Clair Publications
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1935786466
• ISBN 13: 9781935786467
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 88
• Illustrator: St. Clair Stanley J.