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$0.99
21. Wolfert's Roost and Miscellanies
$0.99
22. The Crayon Papers
$0.99
23. Old Christmas
 
24. Rip Van Winkle and other sketches,
 
25. A STRAY LEAF From The CORRESPONDENCE
 
26. HISTORY, TALES AND SKETCHERS BY
 
27. Worlds of Washington Irving,1783-1859:
 
28. The Worlds of Washington Irving,
 
29. ASTORIA, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise
 
30. The ALHAMBRA.
 
31. Rip Van Winkle, a posthumous writing
 
32. TALES Of A TRAVELLER.Part I [-
 
33. The ADVENTURES Of CAPTAIN BONNEVILLE
 
34. Letters: 1846-1859
$11.00
35. Washington Irving: An American
$22.41
36. Washington Irving: Three Western
$2.59
37. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and
$6.95
38. The Complete Tales of Washington
$25.00
39. The Old and New World Romanticism
 
40. The Heart That Would Not Hold:

21. Wolfert's Roost and Miscellanies
by Washington, 1783-1859 Irving
Kindle Edition: Pages (2005-07-01)
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Asin: B000JQV0EA
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Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
Upward of fifty names of the highest nobility, beginning with the Prince de Ligne, and including cardinals, archbishops, dukes, marquises, etc., together with ladies of equal rank, were signed to this petition. By one of the caprices of human pride and vanity, it became an object of ambition to get enrolled among the illustrious suppliants; a kind of testimonial of noble blood, to prove relationship to a murderer! The Marquis de Crequi was absolutely besieged by applicants to sign, and had to refer their claims to this singular honor, to the Prince de Ligne, the grandfather of the Count. ... Read more


22. The Crayon Papers
by Washington, 1783-1859 Irving
Kindle Edition: Pages (2005-04-01)
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Asin: B000JQUXN4
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Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
On the contrary, I have always admired the degree of magnanimity exhibited by the French on the occupation of their capital by the English. When we consider the military ambition of this nation, its love of glory; the splendid height to which its renown in arms had recently been carried, and with these, the tremendous reverses it had just undergone; its armies shattered, annihilated; its capital captured, garrisoned, and overrun, and that too by its ancient rival, the English, toward whom it had cherished for centuries a jealous and almost religious hostility; could we have wondered if the tiger spirit of this fiery people had broken out in bloody feuds and deadly quarrels. ... Read more


23. Old Christmas
by Washington, 1783-1859 Irving
Kindle Edition: Pages (1999-08-01)
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Asin: B000JQU6IQ
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars
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Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
There is nothing in England that exercises a more delightful spell over my imagination than the lingerings of the holiday customs and rural games of former times.They recall the pictures my fancy used to draw in the May morning of life, when as yet I only knew the world through books, and believed it to be all that poets had painted it; and they bring with them the flavour of those honest days of yore, in which, perhaps with equal fallacy, I am apt to think the world was more home-bred, social, and joyous than at present. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

4-0 out of 5 stars Quiet, pleasant reading of an Old English Christmas
Very enjoyable reading for those who like to pull up a chair, have a cup of tea, and escape to a simpler, more elegant time. Those who enjoy Christmas stories, or Anglophiles who can never get enough of English history will enjoy this insight into an Old English Christmas from one who was there.

4-0 out of 5 stars Melancholy little "sketch"
"But is old, old, good old Christmas gone? Nothing but the hair of his good, gray, old head and beard left? Well, I will have that, seeing that I cannot have more of him."

-- "Hue and Cry after Christmas," from the opening page of Old Christmas.

This book is what Washington Irving called a "sketchbook" -- a collection of impressions about something, gathered into a fictionalized story. It's a melancholy, fond evocation of fading English Christmas traditions of the author's time.

The story's simple: Irving sets himself in the English countryside, where he's travelling one Christmas Eve. At a country inn he runs into an old schoolmate, who invites him home to spend Christmas at the family estate. The friend's father, it turns out, dotes on all things Christmas, and has tuned his household to some of the more quaint and obscure English traditions celebrating the day. That lets Irving include lots of odd little bits and pieces of Christmas tradition, told through the old man, as part of his plot. The book covers a night and a day. The chapters are pieces of that time: the stagecoach ride is one chapter, then "Christmas Eve," and so on through "Christmas Dinner."

I read this every year lately, and it's a nice, low-key, sad and happy little way to mark the Christmases passing. Washington Irving wrote it in the early 1800s -- the dates of most of his "Sketch Book" are right around 1819 or 1820 -- and the story is mostly a reminiscence about even earlier Christmas traditions. Then it took until 1894 for this edition to be printed, with the illustrations by Caldecott. Later the facsimile edition I have was printed, in maybe the early 1980s... For a little book about Christmas past to have made it through all those years, and come down to me in this personal "sketch," is a glad thing. Coming back to the same copy year after year makes a nice little private tradition.

The text to this is available in a few places on the Web. That's an okay way to get to know the language, but a facsimile of the original book, with the illustrations, is still worth the few dollars it'll cost. The Caldecott who illustrated this is the one for whom the children's book award was named, among other things. You need to read this one next to the Christmas tree, not by the glow of a computer monitor. ... Read more


24. Rip Van Winkle and other sketches, by Washington Irving
by Washington (1783-1859) Irving
 Hardcover: Pages (1885)

Asin: B0010DZ6SC
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25. A STRAY LEAF From The CORRESPONDENCE Of WASHINGTON IRVING And CHARLES DICKENS.
by Charles.1812 - 1870].[Irving, Washington.1783 - 1859].Andrews, William Loring [1837 - 1920]. [Dickens
 Hardcover: Pages (1894)

Asin: B000NOD8KM
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26. HISTORY, TALES AND SKETCHERS BY WASHINGTON IRVING 1783-1859
by WASHINGTON IRVING 1783-1859
 Hardcover: 1126 Pages (1983)

Asin: B000IMWQCU
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Editorial Review

Product Description
THIS BOOK IS SET IN 10 POINT LINOTRON GALLIARD, A FACE DESIGNED FOR PHOTOCOMPOSITION BY MATTHEW CARTER AND BASED ON THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY FACE GRANJON. THE BINDING MATERIAL IS BRILLIANTA, A 100% WOVEN RAYON CLOTH MADE BY VAN HEEK-SCHOLCO TEXTIELFABRIEKEN, HOLLAND. IT HAS ALSO BEAUTIFUL GILDING ON SPINE AND SLIPCASE, DECORATIVE ENDPAPERS AND SATIN BOOKMARK. THE LIBRARY OF AMERICA HAS BEEN PUBLISHING FOR 20 YEARS, DEDICATED TO BRINGING AMERICAN CLASSICS TO THE MASSES. THEY ARE FAST BECOMING COLLECTABLES, AND ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR STATELY LOOK AS WELL AS THE MOST STURDY SLIPCASES OF ANY PUBLISHER. ... Read more


27. Worlds of Washington Irving,1783-1859: An Anthology Exhibition from the Collections of the New York Library
by Andrew B. Myers
 Paperback: Pages (1974-06)
list price: US$5.50
Isbn: 0871042525
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28. The Worlds of Washington Irving, 1783-1859
by Washington Irving
 Paperback: Pages (1974)

Asin: B000VLUX5A
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29. ASTORIA, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains.
by Margaret].Irving, Washington [1783 - 1859]. [Armstrong
 Hardcover: Pages (1897)

Asin: B000MZE6FS
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30. The ALHAMBRA.
by Washington [1783 - 1859]. Irving
 Hardcover: Pages (1892)

Asin: B000NYJ9B4
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31. Rip Van Winkle, a posthumous writing of Diedrich Knickerbocker with an introduction by Mark Van Doren
by Washington, 1783-1859 Irving
 Hardcover: Pages (1930)

Asin: B000H4COSK
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32. TALES Of A TRAVELLER.Part I [- IV].
by Geoffrey.[pseudonym for Irving, Washington.1783 - 1859]. Crayon
 Hardcover: Pages (1825)

Asin: B000XY883O
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33. The ADVENTURES Of CAPTAIN BONNEVILLE V.S.A. In The ROCKY MOUNTAINS And The FAR WEST-Digested from his Journal and Illustrated from Various Other Sources.
by Margaret].Irving, Washington [1783 - 1859]. [Armstrong
 Hardcover: Pages (1898)

Asin: B000MZAQ6Q
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34. Letters: 1846-1859
by Washington Irving
 Hardcover: Pages (1982-10)
list price: US$55.00
Isbn: 0805785256
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35. Washington Irving: An American Original
by Brian Jay Jones
Hardcover: 456 Pages (2008-01-04)
list price: US$29.99 -- used & new: US$11.00
(price subject to change: see help)
Asin: 1559708360
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars
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Editorial Review

Book Description
The first American writer to make his pen his primary means of support, Washington Irving rocketed to fame at the age of 26. In 1809 he published A History of New York under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker to great acclaim. The public's appetite for all things Irving was insatiable; his name alone guaranteed sales. At the time, he was one of the most famous men in the world, a friend of Dickens, Hawthorne, and Longfellow, as well as Astor, Van Buren, and Madison. But his sparkling public persona was only one side of this gentleman author. In brilliant, meticulous strokes, Brian Jay Jones renders Washington Irving in all his flawed splendor - someone who fretted about money and employment, sufferedfrom writer's block, and doggedly cultivated his reputation. Jones offers as never before a very human portrait of the often contrasting public and private lives of this true American original. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

5-0 out of 5 stars Truly "An American Original"
From the first page, the author's style was engaging and informative.I learned more about Washington Irving than I had imagined could be written about a 19th century author.He lived an illustrous life, especially during his 17 years in England, and he was acquainted with a virtual who's who of that period.I am eager to share this work by Brian Jay Jones to my biography-loving friends and believe they will share my enthusiasm for the contents of the book, as well as the author's colorful usage of the English language.

5-0 out of 5 stars Entertaining & Informative
This book is refreshing, original and well written.Mr. Jones' prose is vibrant and alive.Most likely, Mr. Irving would have been pleased--although perplexed as to why it has taken so long--that his writing and life are getting such literary care.Good job Mr. Jones. ... Read more


36. Washington Irving: Three Western Narratives: A Tour on the Prairie / Astoria / The Adventures of Captain Bonneville (Library of America)
by Washington Irving
Hardcover: 1024 Pages (2004-01-26)
list price: US$40.00 -- used & new: US$22.41
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Asin: 1931082537
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Editorial Review

Book Description
America’s first internationally acclaimed author, Washington Irving, was also one of the first to write about its then far-western frontier. After seventeen years in Europe, the famous author of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” returned to America and undertook an extensive three-month journey through present-day Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Describing scenery and inhabitants with an eye to romantic sublimity and celebrating the frontiersman’s “secret of personal freedom,” Irving published his account of that journey in 1835 as A Tour on the Prairies, an early and distinctly American depiction of the young nation’s borderland and its native inhabitants.

Irving followed up this eyewitness account with two works that chart the dramatic and tumultuous history of the early American fur trade, very much in the spirit of James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales. Astoria (1836) recounts John Jacob Astor’s attempt to establish a commercial empire in the Pacific Northwest. The Adventures of Captain Bonneville (1837) is a lively saga of exploration among the mountains, rivers, and deserts of the Far West. While working closely from original documents, Irving wrote also as a mythologist of the vast spaces traversed by “Sindbads of the wilderness.” In these three compelling narratives he opened up a crucial region of the American literary imagination influencing such authors as Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville. ... Read more


37. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories From the Sketch Book (Signet Classics)
by Washington Irving
Paperback: 400 Pages (2006-04-04)
list price: US$5.95 -- used & new: US$2.59
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Asin: 0451530128
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars
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Book Description
The creator of such quintessentially American fiction as "Rip Van Winkle," Irving earned his preeminence with the masterpieces in miniature collected here: dozens of short stories, travel essays, biographical discourses, and literary musings.Download Description
THE following papers, with two exceptions, were written in England, and formed but part of an intended series for which I had made notes and memorandums. Before I could mature a plan, however, circumstances compelled me to send them piecemeal to the United States, where they were published from time to time in portions or numbers. It was not my intention to publish them in England, being conscious that much of their contents could be interesting only to American readers, and, in truth, being deterred by the severity with which American productions had been treated by the British press. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

4-0 out of 5 stars "Warm and cheerful pictures of English life"
Washington Irving's "Sketch Book" is an eccentric mongrel of literary types that mingles travel writing, literary reflections, and tales (fiction and historical); it is most famous for "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." In 1931, the literary critic Henry Seidel Canby remarked that "without the two Dutch stories, however, 'The Sketch Book' would not have worn so well. They are perfect examples of what Irving loved to do, and naturally he did them well."

Indeed, few readers ever encounter any of the other selections, except perhaps "The Spectre Bridegroom"--a comic tale of mystery and suspense. What may surprise many readers, however, is that nearly all of the book's remaining entries are about England--mostly about rural life and the landed gentry outside London, or (as described by William Cullen Bryant) "warm and cheerful pictures of English life."

Under the pen name of Geoffrey Crayon, Irving details his sea voyage to England, a comical fishing trip inspired by "The Compleat Angler," a walking excursion through Little Britain (a London neighborhood), and a visit to the library at the British Museum, where he "soon found that the library was a kind of literary 'preserve,' subject to game laws, and that no one must presume to hunt there without special license and permission." He attends a rural church service (during which he pays more attention to the congregants than the rites) and even crashes a funeral party. There are two essays on Shakespeare, a sequence of articles describing English Christmas customs, a biographical account of King James I of Scotland, and a tour of the tombs in Westminster Abbey.

From the safe distance of his exile in England, Irving hurls two essays describing sympathetically "the characters and habits of the North American savage." The phrase is jarring to 21st-century ears, but, while Irving repeatedly uses the unfortunate term, he simultaneously condemns that the "the appellations of savage and pagan were deemed sufficient to sanction the hostilities of both [colonists and writers]." Regardless of its bipolar sensitivity to language, the first essay is a rousing defense of Native Americans: "They cannot but be sensible that the white men are the usurpers of their ancient dominion, the cause of their degradation, and the gradual destroyers of their race." The second essay is a portrait of King Philip, or Metamocet of Pokanoket, the 17th-century chief of the Wampanoag tribe whose conflict with the New England settlers resulted in the near-eradication of his people.

Irving has a tendency to dilute his delight with an abundance of detail, but his mastery of the quip and his sarcasm--so abundant in his "History of New York"--is still on display throughout "The Sketch Book." Its unevenness, ponderousness, and lack of thematic coherence can be challenging, however, and those looking for fiction rather than "sketches" may prefer (as I did) Irving's "Tales of a Traveller," which is comprised entirely of ghost stories, pirate adventures, and tall tales.

5-0 out of 5 stars Washington Irving slept for forty years
My memories of reading ' The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' and ' Rip Van Winkle ' in school are memories of vague misunderstanding, a haze of wondering what they were all about. This is especially true in regard the story of Rip Van Winkle.But there was nonetheless in the atmosphere of the stories, something of the feeling of oldAmerica, the Dutch- English America so present in the Renssaeleer County I grew up in. Later in life returning to Irving's work I read some of the Alhambra Tales and sketches. All the writing seemed to me to come of ' another world and time' a world and time much more leisurely and slow than the America which was to follow. It is hard to believe but it is little more thanthirty-years between Washington Irving's gentelmanly meanderings, and the American Renaissance of Melville, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman. Irving is the first American writer known to the world, but he does not really presage the great American creative outburst that is to follow him.
One more point. There is a story from the Talmud about Honi ha- Maagel who goes to sleep for a generation. And when he wakes up finds a wholly new world. He makes then the famous remarks ' Death is preferable to living without friends'. Perhaps Washington Irving too had a sense of being somewhere back in the past, far out of the time of present everyday America. And thus perhaps he suggests that if you sleep too long when you wake up your world is lost and it as if you are dead . i.e. it is as if you have not woken up at all.
Irving in this sense as a writer seems more some one read as a relic than one who gives the kind of inspiring fire his great American successors will provide.

4-0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful collection of observations, essays, and stories.
I must admit I bought this book solely out of a desire to read "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," probably the work Irving is most well-known for today. Every year on Halloween, when I was growing up, a small group of friends and I would watch the old Disney cartoon version of the story while we sorted through our candy. More recently, I fell in love with the 1999 live action adaptation "Sleepy Hollow" starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. I figured it was about time I read the original story to see how these two films stack up in comparison. The rest of the material in the book was of secondary interest to me in making my purchase, but having now read it I can say that, while it wasn't quite what I expected, it was well worthwhile.

The title is both apt and misleading by turns: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and other stories in the Sketch Book." The use of the term "other stories" led me to believe that it would be just that - a collection of short fiction stories. Not so. There are three pieces in the book which would fit this description - "Rip Van Winkle," "The Specter Bridegroom," and the aforementioned "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" - but the rest is a conglomeration of various other types of writing. The title "Sketch Book" is very appropriate. Irving has, in essence, provided us with a series of short, literary "sketches" on a variety of subjects and in a variety of styles. The topics vary, but they are also arranged in such a way that one usually flows smoothly into the next, lending a sense of continuity despite the variability of material covered.

A large percentage of the book is devoted to the author's observations on life in England, himself, though an American, having spent 17 years there. Some are purely observational, and some have elements of fiction and imagination woven in, as is the case with "The Mutability of Literature," an interesting little piece in which Irving imagines a conversation between himself and an old book. Irving also occasionally ventures into the realm of satire. Other topics he explores include the differences between America and England, the role of women, English funeral traditions, Christmas, love, etc. He also did travel pieces, including the interesting "Stratford on Avon," which tells of his exploration of places connected with the life of William Shakespeare. Toward the end there are two pieces discussing the lot of Native Americans - not politically correct by today's standards, but offering an interesting insight on the mindsets of the time.

I should probably take a little time to discuss "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" itself, since it was my primary motivation for purchasing the book and, I suspect, will be what draws most other modern readers to it as well. If you've only seen the 1999 movie version, do NOT expect anything remotely similar. The old Disney cartoon is much more accurate. It is actually a very short story - about 32 pages in length. Ichabod Crane is a schoolmaster (not an investigator as in the 1999 movie) in the town of Sleepy Hollow, and falls for the young and lovely Katrina Van Tassel. Katrina, however, is also being courted by a rival suitor, Brom Van Brunt. Following a town "quilting frolic" at which many tales of local superstition are told, including that of the Headless Horesman, Ichabod sets out into the night alone, is beset by a headless rider before he reaches is destination, and is never seen in Sleepy Hollow again. It is left up to the reader to determine what happens to him.

The language of the book is antiquated, to be sure, having been composed in 1820, but it is not difficult to read. Irving's writing is very warm and inviting. He does tend to paint things rather romantically, and the England he shares with us is not the England of the Industrial Revolution during which the book was written, but this almost makes it more appealing as it opens up room for imagination. One must also remember that Irving wrote the pieces in "The Sketch Book" largely to combat his own depression, a condition he suffered from greatly, and he probably needed a cheerful outlet to distract him. We do, nevertheless, get a glimpse of his more melancholy thoughts in pieces like "The Widow and Her Son," "Rural Funerals," and "The Pride of the Village," all of which deal with death.

The last chapter of the book, "L'Envoi," is a closing piece that was included at the end of the second volume of the London edition. It is an interesting collection of the author's thoughts on and explanations for his own work. He makes an interesting note on the ecclectic nature of the book: "His [the author's] work being miscellaneous, and written for different humors, it could not be expected that anyone would be pleased with the whole, but that if it should contain something to suit each reader, his end would be completely answered. Few guests sit down to a varied table with an equal appetite for every dish" (362). Also included is an Afterword by Perry Miller, which offers observations and insights on Irving's life and career.

5-0 out of 5 stars "...bright gems of wisdom and golden veins of language."
Not to be read quickly and to be savored like fine wine, Washington Irving's "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon" is a matchless classic in American Literature. Written in 1820 and destined to become a true American literary pantheon (along with his preceeding work "Diedrich Knickerboker's History of New York), Irving introduces us to timeless observations and wit that ultimately become enduring discources defining early American Literature.

Irving's mantra with this work is a set of observations, indeed "sketches" of his many travels and musings while roaming through England and his home in upstate New York along the Hudson River. The eternal figures of Rip Van Winkle and Ichabod Crane are evoked in this tome and set a literary standard that others aspire to, but one that Irving effortlessly achieves time and again. Not only does this volume frame these two classics, "The Sketch Book" also contains other literary giants such as "The Angler", "John Bull", "Philip of Pokanoket", "The Specter Bridegroom", "The Mutability of Literature" and "The Art of Bookmaking" wherein the essence of Irving's literary style is neatly conveyed in the following:

"Being now in possesion of the secert, I sat down in a corner and watched the process of this book manufactory. I noticed one lean, bilious-looking wight, who sought none but the worst worm-eaten volumes, printed in black letter. He was evidentley constructing some work of profound erudition that would be purchased by every man who wished to be thought learned, placed upon a conspicuous shelf of his library, or laid upon his table, but never read. I observed him, now and then, draw a large fragment of biscuit out of his his pocket and gnaw; whether it was his dinner, or whether he was endeavoring to keep off that exhaustion of the stomach produced by much pondering over dry works, I leave to harder students than myself to determine."

With a style that has emitted diverse emotions (Lord Byron "unashamedly wept" over the melancholy pieces "The Broken Heart", "The Widow and her Son" and "The Rural Funerals") and having enjoyed over a century and a half of eminent popularity, Washington Irving's "aim in life is to escape 'from the commonplace realities of the present' and to lose himself 'among the shadowy grandeurs of the past' ". Readers tuned in to this philosophy continue to enjoy Irving's literary prose (by buying and re-reading his works), and also, by buying and reading, secure his reputation as a master in American Literature. When one has digested "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon" and "Diedrich Knickerboker's History of New York", one has embraced the essential works of Washington Irving and most would then assuredly join me in saying that he rates eminately in American Literary standing.

4-0 out of 5 stars This book offers so much
I was happily surprised by this book.I have only heard of Irving's ghost stories, which are great and why I purchased it.As I was reading the other stories, I was surprised to be reading of distant lands and historical sites as well.Normally, that would not interest me, but Irving's imagination is profound.He can turn a run down liabrary into a living soul who speaks and interacts with us humans.He can turn an ancient palace into a love story.The only thing I had a problem with was the old school language.It did make reading a little more difficult, however I plan on reading this book again, so I'm sure the second time around will be easier and I will be able to come back and turn the 4 stars into 5. ... Read more


38. The Complete Tales of Washington Irving
by Washington Irving
Paperback: 798 Pages (1998-04)
list price: US$32.95 -- used & new: US$6.95
(price subject to change: see help)
Asin: 0306808404
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Customer Reviews (3)

5-0 out of 5 stars A Spicy Brew
Some give the sheaf to Charles Brockden Brown but I far prefer the mellow stylings of Washington Irving, the sage of Tarrytown.When I was a boy I was introduced to this splendid body of work by one of my grade school teachers, a collateral relative of Washington Irving, a man who hailed from upstate New York and who carried in his bloodlines some of the authentically spooky platelets of colonial America.During the Napoleonic period the US was not necessarily a pretty place to live in, and Irving's famous story THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN shows us some of the dark underbelly of American life.You really weren't safe out of your own good, and at night travel was even more dangerous.Plus, as anyone who's read the story of Ichabod Crane knows, people were just as prone to jeer and mock the funny-looking as they are today.The story is heartbreaking on two levels, the naturalistic and the symbolic.We all know someone like Ichabod Crane, and many of us find ourselves mirrored in his lonely gaze and terrifying gallop through Hessian country.Irving, like Hawthorne, wrote out many of his tales swearing they were as "his grandfather told him," and thus they are set in a period before his own, a misty place of the past that he knew how to make terrifyingly real and relevant.

My teacher also reminded us that Washington Irving was a very cultured man who believed, like Johnny Appleseed, in planting America with the fruits of other, older lands, so that among his stories you will find some from Europe, re-told to make them apropos and socially relevant for the rawness of a new world.

For horror and fright Washington Irving has few rivals, and the bonus is an added richness as of old apples carpeting a winter meadow, and thus this book, edited by a Twain expert, smells like spicy cider on New Years Eve; lots of good cheer along with your ghosts.

3-0 out of 5 stars Mystery and Romance in Rural Settings
(This review refers to the PUFFIN Anthology.)

This Puffin anthology presents five of Irving's short stories--tales of fantasy, legend and unrequited love--all set in rural New York and Europe, orignally published in 1820.His literary genius
was quickly evident; the elegant style contributed to his
accolade as "the father of American literature."Despite minimal dialogue the author captivates serious readers with his lush descriptions of scenery, bizarre twists of fate or

imagination, often interspersed with touches of wry humor.

Examining the follies of the human mind, as well as the foibles of the human heart, Irving has chosen the following subjects:
romance, ghosts, ambition, naivety, and pedantry. RIP VAN WINKLE and THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW are set in Dutch New York; THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM in the forests of Germany. THE PRIDE OF THE VILLAGE takes place in rural, Hardyesque England, while MOUNTJOY returns readers to Yankee New York state. This anthology provides delectable reading for an armchair by the hearth--especially in chilly, hobgoblin weather--by a premier raconteur
and US diplomat.

5-0 out of 5 stars Proof of the talent of an important American author
This wonderful collection proves once and for allthat there is more to Irving than "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The stories contained within this volume are wonderfully told and sparkle with imagination. The pieces from "The Alahambra" were the most impressive. ... Read more


39. The Old and New World Romanticism of Washington Irving:
Hardcover: 201 Pages (1986-10-16)
list price: US$106.95 -- used & new: US$25.00
(price subject to change: see help)
Asin: 0313254419
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40. The Heart That Would Not Hold: A Biography of Washington Irving
by Johanna Johnston
 Hardcover: Pages (1971-03)
list price: US$7.95
Isbn: 0871310570
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