Introduction: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is a short story, first published in 1820, and is among the books included in the Harvard Classics. Whenever I am reading a book that is on a reputable must-read list, I scrutinize it more carefully because I want to determine for myself why the book made it on the list.
Interestingly enough, Rip Van Winkle, another one of Washington Irving’s short story is on the list as well. The edition of the book I have includes: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle, The Specter Bridegroom and The Devil and Tom Walker, all ghost stories. So far I have only read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
The story is only 30 pages in length and is well written. Irving does a good job of creating the setting and describing the characters, but I couldn’t help but wonder if all that information was really necessary. The story is set in a Dutch settlement around Tarry Town, New York, in a secluded area called Sleepy Hollow. The area is believed to be haunted – the most popular ghost, Hessian, the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. Hessian was beheaded by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War, and each night, as the story goes, he rides through Sleepy Hollow.
Have you read?
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving Book Review
What is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving About?
The main character is an impoverished headmaster, Ichabod Crane. After acquiring the supplies to operate the school, the headmaster doesn’t have sufficient funds left over for living expenses, so he lives a nomadic lifestyle, moving from one farming family to another. While staying with a family, he earns his keep by helping in any way he can, such as making hay, mending fences, cutting wood for the fire, and driving the cows from pasture. Ichabod enjoys reading and loves the History of New England Witchcraft by Cotton Mather.
Ichabod Crane pursues Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a wealthy Dutch farmer, and the sole heir if her father's estate. The 18 year old is the apple of her father’s eye. Ichabod, a transplant from Connecticut, is interested in her wealth. Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt the town rebel is also pursuing Van Tassel. One evening, the Van Tassel’s host a harvest party and the entire community is there. Ichabod is having a grand ole time, dancing the night away with Katrina. At the end of the party, after midnight, Katrina spurns him, and he rides away feeling rejected and forlorn.
While heading home, Ichabod Crane's vivid imagination runs away, and he recounts all the ghost stories he has heard since arriving in Tarry Town. Along the way home, he encounters Headless Hessian and goes for the ride of his life on Gunpowder. The headless trooper hurls his decapitated head, which connects with Ichabod, and the schoolmaster tumbles into the dust. The next day, people from the community find the horse, Gunpowder, but no Ichabod. They launch a search but the body of the schoolmaster is never found.
The story doesn’t end there though, “It is true, an old farmer, who had been down to New York on a visit several years after, and from whom this account of the ghostly adventure was received, brought home the intelligence that Ichabod Crane was still alive; that he had left the neighborhood partly through fear of the goblin and Hans Van Ripper, and partly in mortification at having been dismissed by the heiress…”
Final Thoughts: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Not surprisingly, after Ichabod Crane's disappearance, Katrina Van Tassel and Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt marry. I enjoyed reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
even though I think it could be a ‘shorter' short story. Despite that, in my book, it doesn't qualify to be on a must-read list. However, the story demonstrates how legends come into being.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow + Rip Van Winkle + Old Christmas + 31 Other Unabridged & Annotated Stories (The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.)The Washington Irving Anthology: The Complete Fiction and Collected Non-Fiction WorksTales of the AlhambraWashington Irving : History, Tales, and Sketches: The Sketch Book / A History of New York / Salmagundi / Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent. (Library of America)Washington Irving: Three Western Narratives: A Tour on the Prairie / Astoria / The Adventures of Captain Bonneville (Library of America)The Complete Works of Washington Irving: Short Stories, Plays, Historical Works, Poetry and Autobiographical Writings (Illustrated): The Entire Opus of … Crayon, Bracebridge Hall and many more
