Washington Irving

These 2 stories from the pen of one of America's earliest and most popular writers draw upon the myths and legends of local and European folklore to create memorable, richly American tales and characters. In the title story, Rip Van Winkle wanders into the Catskill Mountains before the Revolutionary War. When he helps a dwarf carry a heavy keg to a ninepins game, it seems natural to drink the strange, small men's brew - but he hasn't the head for...

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. 'There was a contagion in the very air that blew from that haunted region; it breathed forth an atmosphere of dreams and fancies infecting all the land.' Featuring 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' and 'Rip Van Winkle', this collection of inspired essays, stories and sketches established Washington Irving's reputation as one of America's foremost authors. Irving's...

Travel back in time to the days before the American Revolution, when Dutch settlers populated the little towns along the Hudson River and ghosts roamed the mountains and river valleys. In "Rip Van Winkle," a henpecked husband escapes his nagging wife by wandering the Catskills, where he encounters some mysterious mountain men and tastes a strange brew with unexpected effects. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" recounts schoolmaster Ichabod Crane's dream...

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales collects the best macabre stories of Washington Irving. Blending sly humor with supernatural thrills, these tales are among the most beloved and re-read of all American fiction. In the thirteen stories gathered for this volume, Irving evokes the colorful landscapes of his Hudson Valley hometown, and conjures characters and creatures from its historical past for a unique kind of weird tale that speaks directly...

In 1811 a group of American traders built a fort at the mouth of the Columbia River, named Fort Astoria in honour 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...

The legend of Sleepy Hollow: A superstitious schoolmaster, in love with a wealthy farmer's daughter, has a terrifying encounter with a headless horseman. Rip Van Winkle: A man who sleeps for twenty years in the Catskill Mountains wakes to a much-changed world

A man who sleeps for twenty years in the Catskill Mountains wakes to a much-changed world.