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    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle
    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle
    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle
    Ebook74 pages1 hour

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle

    By Washington Irving

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Here are two favorite stories by “the father of American literature” exactly as Washington Irving wrote them, newly reset in easy-to-read type, with six handsome new illustrations. Once again in these pages, Ichabod Crane, the hapless schoolmaster of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, faces the terror of the Headless Horseman; and the henpecked husband of Rip van Winkle rises from a 20-year sleep to find a world vastly changed. Children and adults alike will enjoy the humor and suspense of these two beloved classics of American literature.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateJul 21, 2014
    ISBN9780486797359
    Author

    Washington Irving

    Nueva York, 1783 - Sunnyside, 1859. Escritor norteamericano perteneciente al mundo literario del costumbrismo. Washington Irving es el primer autor americano que utiliza la literatura para hacer reír y caricaturizar la realidad, creando además el estilo coloquial que después utilizarían Mark Twain y Hemingway.

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    Reviews for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle

    3.5/5

    109 ratings12 reviews

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    • 4/5
      It was fun to reread this before visiting Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and the infamous bridge. I went the week after Halloween and the foliage was gorgeous. Irving's grave is in the cemetery in a tiny fenced-off portion with his relatives. It's easy to imagine what it must have been like in earlier centuries, with just the hush and the sun shining through leaves.
    • 3/5
      *Book source ~ Local libraryI picked up a few copies of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at the library because my daughter had to read it for her AP English class. I chose a few copies because I wasn’t sure which one she’d want to read and of the four I read the one with Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. My husband decided to read one of the others and my daughter chose yet another. The boys read the last copy, so all the books got some reading love.The copy I read is from 1967. It is a large print with illustrations, but there is no ISBN and I can’t find it anywhere online to link this exact copy. Anyway…it’s hard to believe I haven’t read either of these stories. Heard about them, yes. Actually read them, no. I’m not all that big on classics, but I found both of these stories ok. I did enjoy the extra background in both stories as I could only remember the bare bones of each tale. I do wonder what happened to Ichabod Crane though. Did the pumpkin in the face kill him and he was buried out in the woods? Or was he so scared he took off, even without his stuff? As far as Rip Van Winkle goes, no wonder his wife nagged him. He was a lazy worthless guy and his son didn’t fall far from the tree.
    • 3/5
      I watched movie of Sleepy Hollow before I read this book. It's because I like Johnny depp :)I think movie is better than book since this book is too short !I want to know what happend to Ichabod..
    • 4/5
      When I started getting into this book, I thought to myself "This is what it would look like if Hitchens or Payne wrote fiction." Then I realized what the common thread was between Irving and these two: complete wizardesque mastery of the English language compounded with the gift for selecting the most proper phrase or word for the narrative. Let alone that I enjoyed the stories from that perspective, that they were out-of-whole-cloth archetypes was a wonderful bonus. I enjoyed very much.
    • 3/5
      Worth the read, only for the simple fact that the two stories are those that almost everyone knows from childhood but have not really read themselves. Mr. Irving writes with the eloquent and visual style of his time and it’s a refreshing brake from our modern style.
    • 5/5
      If you're like me, you basically know these stories from the many retellings of them in various media, but never actually got around to reading the originals written by Washington Irving. I finally did, and found it well worth doing. Irving is a fine writer, and puts in many details that make these stories much more vivid than in any other version I've heard and bring them to life. They also give fascinating glimpses into early American life, as when Rip Van Winkle declares his allegiance to King George and is nearly strung up by an angry mob. There is a reason these stories have become iconic, and that is because the originals drew these characters and their tales so brilliantly, much more so than any of the second-hand (and usually second-rate) versions.
    • 4/5
      Aside from Disney’s adaptation of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, I have never been exposed to Irving’s writing. In the early 1800’s, Irving published The Sketch Book which contained Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. While Irving did create a large body of writings, he is now most remembered for these two famous stories.Both of these stories contain a distinct element of myth and legend. They are also clear reminders of how early Americans were often intensely interested in the supernatural and various rituals to bring good luck. These ghostly beliefs were readily adopted into their religious practices or often practiced side by side with religion. Irving is entertainingly humorous and a master craftsman. In one witty moment his deftly describes a peaceful barnyard scene, detailing each serene animal. In the next moment he describes how the main character, Ichabod Crane, is fantasizing the way in which each of these animals might be cooked for as a culinary delight.The language of the stories is charming and masterfully bring life to the plot.“At the foot of these fairy mountains, the voyager may have descried the light smoke curling up from a village, whose shingle-roofs gleam among the trees, just where the blue tints of the upland melt away into the fresh green of the nearer landscape.”-Rip Van Winkle“T0 turn and fly was now too late; and besides, what chance was there of escaping ghost or goblin, if such it was, which could ride upon the wings of the wind?”-The Legend of Sleepy HollowIt is worth noting that Irving does mention, as almost an afterthought, the presence of black slaves. At one point in the story he references a black character as making more of themselves than they should, as most black people do. (paraphrasing Irving) In another part of the story he adds the slaves in as a detail of setting. They peer in at the party from a window. It would be worthwhile to bring these details into comparison with a black person’s recollection of everyday life at this time period. For I am sure that the tone and point of view would be much different. A fantastic contrast would be that of Frederick Douglas’s autobiography.In summary, I enjoyed both stories and highly recommend them. As light entertainment, they are truly delightful. As part of a larger study of the early American lifestyle, they are also beneficial.
    • 3/5
      This book contained probably the most famous novellas/short stories by Washington Irving—the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. In the first of these stories from the Catskill Mountains (based on some of the folktales of the people of the area), a superstitious schoolmaster encounters a headless horseman; in the second, a man sleeps for twenty years, waking to a much-changed world. Both stories were fun, somewhat eerie and relatively short. I think both stories give a nice illustration of 19th century literature and a nice description of the Hudson Valley and it’s Dutch settlers. 3 out of 5 stars.
    • 3/5
      This book have two story,Rip Van Winkle and The lagend of Sleepy Hollow.I like former. The story's stage is American small town,and main charactor is Rip.Rip meets a strange man and he is a little different experience.I was surprised at Rip spend time twenty years.I didn't understand strange man's identity,but I think it sounds too good to put the mind is better.
    • 5/5
      These are tales I've known for years, but have never really read for myself. I've either read retellings written for children or viewed film adaptions. The originals, of course, are so much better. You have the classic plots, of course, which have captured people's imaginations for generations, and you also have Mr. Irving's rich description of the characters and the settings. These engage the adult heart and mind, as much as the simplified tales reach the inner child's sense of wonder. Once again I find myself wondering why I don't read more classic literature.--J.
    • 5/5
      A good old book for kids ? when they are bored and they could use some kind of distraction.


    • 5/5
      These stories were well-known to me. But I had never actually read them. They provided a great Halloween week treat. This edition, published by the Sleepy Hollow Press, includes twelve illustrations from the original publication thT have been beautifully colored. I thoroughly enjoyed the both stories and illustrations.

    Book preview

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving

    man

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

    (FOUND AMONG THE PAPERS OF THE LATE DIEDRICH KNICKERBOCKER.)

    A pleasing land of drowsy head it was,

    Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye;

    And of gay castles in the clouds that pass,

    For ever flushing round a summer sky.

    CASTLE OF INDOLENCE.

    IN THE BOSOM of one of those spacious coves which indent the eastern shore of the Hudson, at that broad expansion of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappaan Zee, and where they always prudently shortened sail, and implored the protection of St. Nicholas when they crossed, there lies a small market town or rural port, which by some is called Greensburgh, but which is more generally and properly known by the name of Tarry Town. This name was given, we are told, in former days, by the good housewives of the adjacent country, from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the village tavern on market days. Be that as it may, I do not vouch for the fact, but merely advert to it, for the sake of being precise and authentic. Not far from this village, perhaps about three miles, there is a little valley, or rather lap of land, among high hills, which is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook glides through it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose; and the occasional whistle of a quail, or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquillity.

    I recollect that, when a stripling, my first exploit in squirrel shooting was in a grove of tall walnut trees that shades one side of the valley. I had wandered into it at noon time, when all nature is peculiarly quiet, and was startled by the roar of my own gun, as it broke the sabbath stillness around, and was prolonged and reverberated by the angry echoes. If ever I should wish for a retreat, whither I might steal from the world and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this little valley.

    From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW, and its rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all the neighbouring country. A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere. Some say that the place was bewitched by a high German doctor during the early days of the settlement; others, that an old Indian chief, the prophet or wizard of his tribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson. Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in a continual reverie. They are given to all kinds of marvellous beliefs; are subject to trances and visions; and frequently see strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air. The whole neighbourhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions; stars shoot and meteors glare oftener across the valley than in any other part of the country, and the night mare, with her whole nine fold, seems to make it the favourite scene of her gambols.

    The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander in chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head. It is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon ball, in some nameless battle during the revolutionary war; and who is ever and anon seen by the country folk, hurrying along in the gloom of night, as if on the wings of the wind. His haunts are not confined to the valley, but extend at times to the adjacent roads, and especially to the vicinity of a church that is at no great distance. Indeed, certain of the most authentic historians of those parts, who have been careful in collecting and collating the floating facts concerning this spectre, allege that, the body of the trooper having been buried in the churchyard, the ghost rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head; and that the rushing speed with which he sometimes passes along the Hollow, like a midnight blast, is owing to his being belated, and in a hurry to get back to the churchyard before daybreak.

    Such is the general purport of this legendary superstition, which has furnished materials for many a wild story in that region of shadows; and the spectre is known, at all the country firesides, by the name of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.

    It is remarkable that the visionary propensity I have mentioned is not confined to the native inhabitants of the valley, but is unconsciously imbibed by every one who resides there for a time. However wide awake they may have been before they entered that sleepy region, they are sure, in a little time, to inhale the witching influence of the air, and begin to grow imaginative—to dream dreams, and see apparitions.

    I mention this peaceful spot with all possible laud; for it is in such little retired Dutch valleys, found here and there embosomed in the

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