Washington Irving

This handsome edition of Washington Irving's Old Christmas contains all of the 110 illustrations that Randolph Caldecott originally prepared for it. The text of Old Christmas first appeared as five chapters in Irving's Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., published in 1819-20. This is the classic that contained his Rip van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - a cornucopia, indeed. Irving's "celebration of the celebration" preceded Dicken's Christmas Carol by nearly a quarter century and helped to nurture America's recognition of the holiday. An early review of the 1875 edition claimed, "the book is intended for the fireside of the reading folks of all classes. Surely it has seldom happened in the history of illustration that an author should be so very closely followed-if not overtaken-by his illustrator."

Washington Irving's Life of George Washington (published in five volumes in 1856-59) was the product of his last years and remains his most personal work. Christened with the name of the great general, Irving was blessed by Washington while still a boy of seven, and later came to know many of the prominent figures of the Revolution. In these pages he describes them using firsthand source material and observation. The result is a book which is fascinating not only for its subject (the American Revolution), but also for how it reveals in illuminating detail the personality and humanity of a now remote, towering icon. Here is an intimate portrait of Washington the man, from Virginia youth to colonial commander to commander-in-chief of the patriot army to first president and great guiding force of the American federation. But one cannot read Irving's Life without marveling at the supreme art behind it, for his biography is foremost a work of literature. Charles Neider's abridgment and editing of Irving's long out-of-print classic has created a literary work comparable in importance and elegance to the original. George Washington, A Biography , Neider's title for his edition of Irving's Life , makes the work accessible to modern audiences. The extensive introduction provides a detailed analysis of Irving's life and times, and the difficulties he faced as he worked against his own failing health to finish what he felt was his masterpiece. This new edition of the superb biography of America's first citizen by America's first literary artist remains as fresh and unique today as when it was penned.

The author oberves with a sharp eye the lives and customs of English, German, and Spanish gentry and villagers

Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords. This edition of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow includes an Introduction and Afterword by Charles L. Grant. Sleepy Hollow is a strange little place...some say bewitched. Some talk of its haunted valleys and streams, the ghostly woman in white, eerie midnight shrieks and howls, but most of all they talk of the Headless Horseman. A huge, shadowy soldier who rides headless through the night, terrifying unlucky travellers. Schoolteacher Ichabod Crane is fascinated by these stories.... Until late one night, walking home through Wiley's swamp, he finds that maybe they're not just stories. What is that dark, menacing figure riding behind him on a horse? And what does it have in its hands? And why wasn't schoolteacher Crane ever seen in Sleepy Hollow again?

Washington Irving has long been admired for his writings on American lore and history, but his work on Islamic subjects, particularly his studies of Moorish Spain, deserve wider recognition. This edition of The Alhambra, here republished in facsimile from the 1908 edition, complete with illustrations by Joseph Pennell, presents a welcome opportunity to reassess Irving's European writings. The author first visited Granada in 1828, and revisited the city many times, living within the precincts of the Alhambra and having access to the many historical documents housed there. He later composed his two-volume work Mahomet and His Successors (1849-50), derived from original sources held in Granada. The Alhambra is a more personal study, reflecting the author's enchantment with the splendours of the palace and his intimate knowledge of the history of the Moors in Spain.

A detailed history of the eight centuries of Moorish domination of Spain. The author also traces the rise and fall of Granada, greatest of the Moorish cities.

A detailed history of the eight centuries of Moorish domination of Spain. The author also traces the rise and fall of Granada, greatest of the Moorish cities.

In 1832, Washington Irving, recently returned from seventeen years' residence abroad and eager to explore his own country, embarked on an expedition to the country west of Arkansas set aside for the Indians. A Tour on the Prairies is his absorbing account of that journey, which extended from Fort Gibson to the Cross Timbers in what is now Oklahoma. First published in 1835, it has remained a perennial favorite, retaining its original freshness, vigor, and vividness to this day.

A collation of the author's extensive writings made during his travels and studies in Spain from 1826 to 1829 dealing with the foundations of the Islamic faith. Washington Riving was the first American man of letters to receive international recognition. He in fact spent almost a third of his life in Europe, including several years in Spain attached to the American Legation. He travelled about that country from 1826-9, working in the Libraries of Madrid and Seville, and for a time living in the Alhambra. From these studies Irving compiled a vast store of information concerning the dominance of the moors in Spain, and also prepared extensive notes dealing with the foundation of the Islamic faith. Twenty years passed before Irving was able to collate all his writings into a single body of work. The resultant 'Mahomet and His Successors', published in two volumes in 1849-50, was well-received in both American and Europe, providing as it did an excellent introductory study of the life of the Prophet and the founding of Islam. The work remains of interest to the general reader and will now also attract the student of Islamic historical literature for whom this republished work, in facsimile of the 1868 edition, will be especially welcome.

Washington Riving was the first American man of letters to receive international recognition. He in fact spent almost a third of his life in Europe, including several years in Spain attached to the American Legation. He travelled about that country from 1826-9, working in the Libraries of Madrid and Seville, and for a time living in the Alhambra. From these studies Irving compiled a vast store of information concerning the dominance of the moors in Spain, and also prepared extensive notes dealing with the foundation of the Islamic faith. Twenty years passed before Irving was able to collate all his writings into a single body of work. The resultant 'Mahomet and His Successors', published in two volumes in 1849-50, was well-received in both American and Europe, providing as it did an excellent introductory study of the life of the Prophet and the founding of Islam. The work remains of interest to the general reader and will now also attract the student of Islamic historical literature for whom this republished work, in facsimile of the 1868 edition, will be especially welcome.

In 1811 a group of American traders built a fort at the mouth of the Columbia River, named Fort Astoria in honor of its financier, John Jacob Astor. Envisioned as the spur of a fur-trading empire, by 1813 the project was a business failure and the fort was surrendered to the British. But in its short life Astoria rendered incalculable benefits to public understanding of the Great Northwest. The exploration of trade routes, the description of various Indian tribes and their customs, and an American claim on the Northwest coast were among many of its legacies. Astor never relinquished his pride in the enterprise and insisted that the West would one day be a dominating factor in national politics. To drive his point home he asked Washington Irving, the country's most renowned and respected author, to transform the papers of Fort Astoria into a unified and readable history. Irving accepted the offer and published Astoria in 1836. From its first appearance--when it was hailed by no less a reviewer than Edgar Allan Poe--to the present day, Astoria has been read as a vivid and fascinating history, comparable indeed to the finest of romances, but rooted in the rough and hardy life of trapping, hunting, and exploration. The text of this edition is approved by the Center for editions of American Authors, Modern Language Association of America.

Sleepy Hollow is a strange little place...some say bewitched. Some talk of its haunted valleys and streams, the ghostly woman in white, eerie midnight shrieks and howls, but most of all they talk of the Headless Horseman. A huge, shadowy soldier who rides headless through the night, terrifying unlucky travellers. School teacher Ichabod Crane is fascinated by these stories.... Until late one night, walking home through Wiley's swamp, he finds that may be they're not just stories. What is that dark, menacing figure riding behind him on a horse ? And what does it have in its hands ? And why wasn't school teacher Crane ever seen in Sleepy Hollow again?

This celebrated biography of Christopher Columbus takes us from his obscure youth to his discovery of the Americas, and through the four voyages he made to the New World. Columbus was born in Genoa, and gained maritime experience by sailing in Europe and along the coast of Africa at a young age. He was voracious in educating himself on topics such as astronomy and geography, and achieved fluency in multiple languages. Formulating a plan to traverse the Atlantic Ocean, his persistence resulted in a commission from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Columbus made landfall in the New World in 1492, his success stunned Europe's leaders and spurred a new era of naval exploration and colonization. The biographer, Washington Irving, was acclaimed for his histories and short fiction. By the time he published this account of Columbus in 1828, Irving was lauded for his fluent and entertaining narratives. However, some scholars criticized his treatment of Columbus and the Age of Discovery, noting that certain events and persons are described with details and romanticisms that do not appear in sources. While Irving claims Columbus was born in 1435, modern historians agree the explorer was born in 1451. Nevertheless, Irving's work was the most widely-read treatment of Columbus for over a century.

"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 Halloween because of a character known as the Headless Horseman believed to be a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a cannonball in battle. 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 that 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. Ichabod Crane, a Yankee and an outsider, sees marriage to Katrina as a means of procuring Van Tassel's extravagant wealth.

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 Halloween because of a character known as the Headless Horseman believed to be a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a cannonball in battle. - Source Wikipedia