WASCHINGTON IRVING (1783-1859) was born in New York city, one of 11 children. Irving studied law and passed the bar examination in 1806, but earlier he had discovered his true talent by writing satirical sketches and stories under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent. In 1809 he published A History of New York under the now famous pen name Diedrich Knickerbocker. "The-Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle" first appeared in one of Irving's best known works, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon Gent. With its success, Irving's literary reputation grew, and today he is considered by many to be the "father of American literature."

Here are two favorite stories by "the father of American literature" exactly as Washington Irving wrote them, newly reset in easy-to-read type, with six handsome new illustrations. Once again in these pages, Ichabod Crane, the hapless schoolmaster of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, faces the terror of the Headless Horseman, and the henpecked husband of Rip Van Winkle rises from a 20-year sleep to find a world vastly changed. Children and adults alike will enjoy the humor and suspense of these two beloved classics of American literature.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Rip Van Winkle