Two volumes of the strange and ghostly by one of the earliest great American authors
Those who know anything of American literature know that Washington Irving was one of its earliest and most influential giants. Born less than a decade after the birth of the nation, it is clear through many of his writings that he embodied the very spirit of his nationality, age and place. He was a prolific author, a craftsman of fiction and non-fiction alike and his works of history are enduring classics. Whilst Irving is a true American writer his subject matter is by no means provincial. He travelled widely and his works inspired by his time in Spain have left for posterity a fine legacy-most especially in the collection that is ‘Tales from the Alhambra.’ Irving actually lived within the walls of the spectacular Moorish fortress of Granada and the experience inspired wonderful fiction and travelogue of the highest order. Irving was firmly established as an author of influence by the first quarter of the nineteenth century and he encouraged other American writers of his time, such as Hawthorne, Longfellow, Poe and Melville, towards their own success. Regardless of his huge written canon, Irving was fated, in keeping with many authors, to be best remembered for some of his shortest work, for it is in the typically early American tales-‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ and ‘Rip van Winkle’-that his fame principally abides. Also, in keeping with many authors who wrote over a range of subjects, Irving had a taste for the bizarre and supernatural, as evidenced of course by his terrifying headless Hessian horseman! This two volume Leonaur collection of Irving’s forays into the bizarre and other-worldly provides the reader with a cornucopia of strange stories set in a variety of times and settings, all guaranteed to provoke a chill or smile and sometimes both at once. The books are available in soft cover or hard back with dust jacket for collectors.
In volume two readers will discover no less than thirty five shorter works representing Irving’s fascination with ‘the other side of the veil.’ Among them is, of course, the novelette ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ and two companion novelettes ‘Dolph Heylinger’ and ‘The Adventure of the Back Fisherman.’ Also included are thirty two short stories including ‘Rip Van Winkle, ’ ‘The Spectre Bridegroom, ’ ‘The Haunted House, ’ ‘The Phantom Island, ’ ‘Hell Gate’ and many others.
