Washington Irving

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is story of speculative fiction by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Written while Irving was living abroad in Birmingham, England, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was first published in 1820. Along with Irving's companion piece "Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is among the earliest examples of American fiction with enduring popularity, especially during the Halloween season. The story is set in 1790 in the countryside around the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town (historical Tarrytown, New York), in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow is renowned for its ghosts and the haunting atmosphere that pervades the imaginations of its inhabitants and visitors. Some residents say this town was bewitched during the early days of the Dutch settlement. Other residents say an old Native American chief, the wizard of his tribe, held his powwows here before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson. The most infamous spectre in the Hollow is the Headless Horseman, said to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper who had his head shot off by a stray cannonball during "some nameless battle" of the American Revolutionary War, and who "rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head". The "Legend" relates the tale of Ichabod Crane, a lean, lanky and extremely superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut, who competes with Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, the town rowdy, for the hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and sole child of a wealthy farmer, Baltus Van Tassel. Crane, a Yankee and an outsider, sees marriage to Katrina as a means of procuring Van Tassel's extravagant wealth. Bones, the local hero, vies with Ichabod for Katrina's hand, playing a series of pranks on the jittery schoolmaster, and the fate of Sleepy Hollow's fortune weighs in the balance for some time. The tension between the three is soon brought to a head. On a placid autumn night, the ambitious Crane attends a harvest party at the Van Tassels' homestead. He dances, partakes in the feast, and listens to ghostly legends told by Brom and the locals, but his true aim is to propose to Katrina after the guests leave. His intentions, however, are ill-fated.

Washington Irving (1783 - 1859) was an American author known for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Irving was also an essayist, historian and biographer. Irving was the first American writer to gain fame in Europe. Irving achieved international fame with the publication of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gen in 1819. Irving used the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon on several occasions. This collection includes MOUNTJOY: or Some Passages out of the Life of a Castle-Builder, THE GREAT MISSISSIPPI BUBBLE--"A Time of Unexampled Prosperity", DON JUAN: A Spectral Research, BROEK: or the Dutch Paradise, SKETCHES IN PARIS IN 1825--From the Traveling Note-Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent, My French Neighbor The Englishman at Paris English and French Character The Tuileries and Windsor Castle The Field of Waterloo Paris at the Restoration, AMERICAN RESEARCHES IN ITALY--Life of Tasso: Recovery of a Lost Portrait of Dante, THE TAKING OF THE VEIL The Charming Letorieres, THE EARLY EXPERIENCES OF RALPH RINGWOOD--Noted Down from his Conversations, THE SEMINOLES, ORIGIN OF THE WHITE, THE RED, AND THE BLACK MEN--A Seminole Tradition, THE CONSPIRACY OF NEAMATHLA--An Authentic Sketch, LETTER FROM GRANADA, ABDERAHMAN: Founder of the Dynasty of the Ommiades in Spain, THE WIDOW'S ORDEAL: or a Judicial Trial by Combat, THE CREOLE VILLAGE: A Sketch from a Steamboat, and A CONTENTED MAN.

Bright Reads Books from My Ink Shines (Rick Sellano, LLC.) brings Washington Irving's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." At a gigantic, 72-point font, we expect that reading will be easier for all. And reading for grandchildren may once again be a routine joy. Original authors and illustrators are always credited. Find out more on Facebook.

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story of speculative fiction by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Written while Irving was living abroad in Birmingham, England, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was first published in 1820. Along with Irving's companion piece "Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is among the earliest examples of American fiction with enduring popularity, especially during the Halloween season.