The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Washington Irvings The Legend of Sleepy Hollow first appeared in 1819. In the generations that have followed, this tall tale of Ichabod Crane's terrifying yet hilarious encounter with the Headless Horseman has become so popular that it has passed into American folklore.

In 1928, a new edition of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was issued, featuring enchanting paintings and drawings by world-renowned illustrator Arthur Rackharn. To this day, many consider Rackham's the definitive illustrations for Irving's highspirited tale.

Now a new generation of readers and listeners can fall under the spell of Irvings story and Rackham's pictures. This edition of the complete, unedited text faithfully reproduces all eight of Rackham's colorful paintings, twenty-four of his penand-ink drawings, and his colorful endpapers.

Here you will meet the tall, gangly Ichabod Crane, the schoolmaster who is as much in love with Katrina Van Tassel's fortune as he is with the beautiful Katrina herself. You will also meet Ichabod's rival, the hotblooded brawler and prankster Brom Bones. And you can decide for yourself if Ichabod Crane really met the Headless Horseman on that dark, lonely road late one night.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a fine blend of comedy and the supernatural for the whole family.

Washington Irving Was born in New York City in 1783. He lived in the United States, England, and Spain (where he served as an American diplomatic attache). A prolific author, Irving wrote The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., Diedrich Knickerbocker's History of New York, The Alhambra, and biographies of George Washington and Christopher Columbus, among other works. He is best remembered, however, for his two most famous stories, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle."

Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was born in London and worked in an Insurance office to pay for evening classes at the Lambeth School for Art. After his drawings were published in Punch, the English humor magazine, Rackham became well known for his distinctive, richly detailed illustrations for such classics as Gulliver's Travels, Mother Goose, The Fairy Tales of Grimm, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Aesop's Fables, and The Wind in the Willows.

Peter Glassman is the owner of Books of Wonder, the New York City bookstore and publisher specializing in new and old imaginative books for children. He is also the editor of the Books of Wonder Classics, a series of deluxe facsimiles and newly illustrated editions of timeless tales. And he is the author of The Wizard Next Door, illustrated by Steven Kellogg. Mr. Glassman lives in New York City.