"The Headless Horseman faces off with Ichabod Crane in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, " a ghost story of enduring popularity that takes place at the time of the American Revolution. "Rip Van Winkle, " another traditional favorite from the same historic period, tells the tale of man who fell asleep for 20 years and found his small town in the Catskill Mountains much changed by the time he awakened. Both are included - along with many other tales - in...

Discusses the life and works of Washington Irving. Includes a chronology. It is the intention of this work to show that all Irving's books are readable today, that many are worth reading, and that a few demand reading and rereading. It is also its intent to demonstrate that Irving was not a short-story writer, but a composer of books: thus, a story in one of his books is more than that story alone, for it gains meaning from what came before and gives...