The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

November 9, 2014

After hearing a discussion of Washington Irving's classic on the Diane Rehm Show earlier this week, I decided to re-read it in honor of Halloween. After all, it is relatively short and wouldn't require a commitment of an excessive amount of time, so it was something I could easily accomplish before the spooks and goblins descended on Halloween night. It had been many long years since I first became acquainted with the story of Ichabod Crane and his encounter with the Headless Horseman. It was...

January 10, 2019

I must admit the only versions of this story with which i was familiar before this reading were the Tim Burton feature and the Disney cartoon, which is surprisingly closer to the written version. The tale is of course about schoolteacher of Tarry Town, Ichabod Crane, and his ride of being chased by the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. The read of course does details more about Ichabod, including his fascination with ghost stories and fantastical folklore of New England, which does make him...

October 25, 2010

Although most readers have already read this fine book as youngsters, probably properly prompted by teachers who wanted to introduce their charges to good literature, it is worth-while rereading it as adults not only because the Amazon version is free and their teachers were right that it is good literature, but also because it is fun. Washington Irving (1783-1859) was known for his humor while he was alive, and his reputation has lived after him. He claims that the book was found among the...

October 17, 2012

I read this book because 1) it's a classic and 2) Halloween is coming up! I actually got this book confused with Rip Van Winkle and kept waiting for Ichabod Crane to fall asleep for hundreds of years. So it wasn't quite what I was expecting but it was still enjoyable. It can definitely put you in the mood for Halloween because the writing is great and all the descriptions of the woods and Sleepy Hollow, not to mention the Headless Horseman, were very vivid. Plus, if you're not familiar with all...

June 7, 2002

Will Moses' illustrated retelling of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow rivals Arthur Rackham's near century-old version as the best edition of the book ever published. The Rackham version, with its moody, archetypal illustrations, has the slight edge, as it contains Irving's full original text in addition to Rackham's spectacular artwork. However, Moses's simplification of the narrative is masterfully executed, and the colorful, playful, and numerous paintings which adorn the book...