The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Xist Classics)

A late night ride brings a horrifying sight “There is nothing like the silence and loneliness of night to bring dark shadows over the brightest mind.” ― Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story by American author Washington Irving that has become a Halloween and horror classic. Set in 1790 in Tarrytown, New York, Ichabod Crane encounters a mysterious figure who carries his head not on his shoulders, but in his saddle. This Xist Classics edition has been professionally formatted for e-readers with a linked table of contents. This ebook also contains a bonus book club leadership guide and discussion questions. We hope you’ll share this book with your friends, neighbors and colleagues and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.Xist Publishing is a digital-first publisher. Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation and is dedicated to helping everyone develop a lifetime love of reading, no matter what form it takes Get your next Xist Classic title for Kindle here: http://amzn.to/1A7cKKl Find all our our books for Kindle here: http://amzn.to/1PooxLl Sign up for the Xist Publishing Newsletter here. Find more great titles on our website.

From Publishers Weekly

Paintings by Grandma Moses's great-grandson make a striking match for Irving's classic story of strange goings-on in a small town in the Hudson Valley. Though greatly condensed, the plot remains intact; Ichabod Crane, the gangly schoolteacher, is driven out of Sleepy Hollow by a pumpkin-headed horseman who may (or may not) have been his flesh-and-blood rival to the affections of Katrina, a well-off young beauty. The paintings-naive, bright and straightforward in the tradition associated with Moses's illustrious forebear-suit the story stylistically although they do not fully enter into its spirit; they do not vary to plumb the moods of the story, which range from low country comedy to romance to suspense and terror. But the illustrations are well placed, either as two-page set pieces of the churchyard or Katrina's family farm (these are strikingly similar in composition to the work of Grandma Moses), or as small vignettes amidst the text. Overall, an attractive illustrated storybook, which may excite interest in the original. Ages 6-up. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6?Unlike the more concise adaptations by Robert Van Nutt (Rabbit Ears, 1991) and Robert San Souci (Doubleday, 1986), this version of the classic tale, retold by Grandma Moses's great-grandson, remains true to the original in its lengthy and flowery narration. An unnamed storyteller enthusiastically relays the legend of the Headless Horseman and his effect on the schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, in "...a mysterious, dreamy little settlement called Sleepy Hollow." While there are occasional awkward passages, the text is lively and compelling, with a 19th-century flavor. The primitive paintings enhance the Hudson Valley setting; unfortunately, their quality is uneven. Moses is most successful with the double-page landscapes and village scenes (similar to his great-grandmother's style), which will intrigue readers with their detailed activity. A few of the smaller vignettes capture humorous situations and the personalities of individual characters, but many, especially the night scenes, are indistinct and muddy. Moses includes black characters in the illustrations, though he has removed Irving's stereotyped descriptive passages. The lively text begs to be read aloud, but the detailed paintings lend themselves to one-on-one viewing. Try San Souci's or Van Nutt's version if you are sharing the illustrations with a group.?Kristin Lott, East Brunswick Public Library, NJCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3^-5. Many folk-art paintings illustrate this simplified retelling of Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Varied in size from small vignettes to double-page spreads, the colorful paintings are reminiscent of the works of Moses' great-grandmother, better known as Grandma Moses. A large-format picture book that will fill a need in some libraries. Carolyn Phelan

Edgar Allan Poe

“Exceptional talent . . . I am one of his most ardent admirers. I admired Mr. Irving’s work so much, in fact, that I gave it the ultimate praise. I ‘borrowed it.’ ”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Legend of Sleepy HollowBy Washington IrvingIdeals PublicationsCopyright © 1991 Washington IrvingAll right reserved.ISBN: 9780824981624Chapter OneThe Author's Account of HimselfI am of this mind with Homer, that as the snaile that crept out of her shel was turned eftsoones into a Toad, and thereby was forced to make a stoole to sit on; so the traveller that stragleth from his owne country is in a short time transformed into so monstrous a shape that he is faine to alter his mansion with his manners and to live where he can, not where he would. I was always fond of visiting new scenes and observing strange characters and manners. Even when a mere child I began my travels and made many tours of discovery into foreign parts and unknown regions of my native city; to the frequent alarm of my parents and the emolument of the town cryer. As I grew into boyhood I extended the range of my observations. My holy day afternoons were spent in rambles about the surrounding country. I made myself familiar with all its places famous in history or fable. I knew every spot where a murder or robbery had been committed or a ghost seen. I visited the neighbouring villages and added greatly to my stock of knowledge, by noting their habits and customs, and conversing with their sages and great men. I even journeyed one long summer's day to the summit of the most distant hill, from whence I stretched my eye over many a mile of terra incognita, and was astonished to find how vast a globe I inhabited.This rambling propensity strengthened with my years. Books of voyages and travels became my passion, and in devouring their contents I neglected the regular exercises of the school. How wistfully would I wander about the pier heads in fine weather, and watch the parting ships, bound to distant climes. With what longing eyes would I gaze after their lessening sails, and waft myself in imagination to the ends of the earth.Further reading and thinking, though they brought this vague inclination into more reasonable bounds, only served to make it more decided. I visited various parts of my own country, and had I been merely a lover of fine scenery, I should have felt little desire to seek elsewhere its gratification, for on no country have the charms of nature been more prodigally lavished. Her mighty lakes, like oceans of liquid silver; her mountains with their bright aerial tints; her valleys teeming with wild fertility; her tremendous cataracts thundering in their solitudes; her boundless plains waving with spontaneous verdure; her broad deep rivers, rolling in solemn silence to the ocean; her trackless forests, where vegetation puts forth all its magnificence; her skies kindling with the magic of summer clouds and glorious sunshine-no, never need an American look beyond his own country for the sublime and beautiful of natural scenery.But Europe held forth the charms of storied and poetical association. There were to be seen the masterpieces of art, the refinements of highly cultivated society, the quaint peculiarities of ancient and local custom. My native country was full of youthful promise; Europe was rich in the accumulated treasures of age. Her very ruins told the history of times gone by, and every mouldering stone was a chronicle. I longed to wander over the scenes of renowned achievement-to tread as it were in the footsteps of antiquity-to loiter about the ruined castle-to meditate on the falling tower-to escape in short, from the commonplace realities of the present, and lose myself among the shadowy grandeurs of the past. Continues...Excerpted from The Legend of Sleepy Hollowby Washington Irving Copyright © 1991 by Washington Irving. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

From AudioFile

The St. Charles Players bring a classic of American horror to life in this full-cast performance. Unlike the recent film version of SLEEPY HOLLOW, the script remains true to Irving's original tale, adding dialogue and additional ghost stories to flesh out the plot. The acting throughout is uneven. But overall, this play is pleasant entertainment based faithfully on a classic story of horror. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author

Washington Irving, one of the first American authors to earn his living from writing, was born in 1783 and died in 1859.

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