Washington Irving: History, Tales and Sketches (LOA #16) by
Washington Irving's career as a writer began obscurely at age seventeen, when his brother's newspaper published his series of comic reports on the theater, theater-goers, fashions, balls, courtships, duels, and marriages of his contemporary New York, called Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent. Written in the persona of an elderly gentleman of the old school, these letters captured his fellow townsmen at play in their most incongruous attitudes of simple sophistication. Irving's next work, Salmagundi, written in collaboration with his brother William and James Kirke Paulding, and published at irregular intervals in 1805-06, continued this roguish style of satire and burlesque. A History of New York, publicized by an elaborate hoax in the local newspapers concerning the disappearance of the elderly "Diedrich Knickerbocker," turned out to be a wild and hilarious spoof that combined real New York history with political satire. Quickly reprinted in England, it was admired by Walter Scott and Charles Dickens (who carried his copy in his pocket). In later years, as Irving revised and re-revised his History, he softened his gibes at Thomas Jefferson, the Dutch, and the Yankees of New Engl∧ this Library of America volume presents the work in its original, exuberant, robust, and unexpurgated form, giving modern readers a chance to enjoy the version that brought him immediate international acclaim. The Sketch Book contains Irving's two best-loved stories, "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." It also includes many sketches of English country and city life, as well as nostalgic portraits of vanishing traditions, like the old celebrations of Christmas. A writer of great urbanity and poise, acutely sensitive to the nostalgia of a passing age, Washington Irving was a central figure in America's emergence on the international scene. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.
Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.
Salmagundi or The Whim-Whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. & Others
A History of New York, From the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
Preface to the Revised Edition
The Author’s Account of Himself
The Voyage
Roscoe
The Wife
Rip Van Winkle
English Writers on America
Rural Life in England
The Broken Heart
The Art of Book Making
A Royal Poet
The Country Church
The Widow and Her Son
A Sunday in London
The Boar’s Head Tavern, East Cheap
The Mutability of Literature
Rural Funerals
The Inn Kitchen
The Spectre Bridegroom
Westminster Abbey
Christmas
London Antiques
Little Britain
Stratford-on-Avon
Traits of Indian Character
Philip of Pokanoket
John Bull
The Pride of the Village
The Angler
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
L’Envoy
Washington Irving: Bracebridge Hall, Tales of a Traveller, the Alhambra (LOA #52 by
This second Library of America volume of Washington Irving brings together for the first time three collections of his stories and sketches. Written at the peak of his popularity, these three works reveal Irving's remarkable diversity, his skill at adapting European legends to his own style, and the talent for entertainment that made him America's first literary celebrity. Bracebridge Hall (1822) was published, like The Sketch Book, under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon, and centers on an English manor, its inhabitants, and the tales they tell. Interspersed with witty, evocative sketches of country life among the English nobility is the well-known tale "The Stout Gentleman" and stories based on English, French, and Spanish folklore, vividly recounted with Irving's inimitable blend of elegance and colloquial dash. Tales of a Traveller (1824), written after a year-long stay in Germany, is a pivotal work in Irving's career, marking his last experiment with fiction before he turned to the writing of history, biography, and adaptation of folktales. Irving felt his new stories to be "some of the best things I have ever written. They may not be as highly finished as some of my former writings, but they are touched off with a freer spirit, and are more true to life." The Alhambra (1832) was inspired by Irving's stay during the spring and summer of 1829 at the ancient Moorish palace in Granada, which he called "one of the most remarkable, romantic, and delicious spots in the world." This rich compendium of tales, deftly interwoven with historical accounts and picturesque sketches, was assembled from Spanish and Moorish folklore, history, guidebooks, and anecdotes of Irving's experiences among the local residents. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.
Bracebridge Hall; or The Humourists: A Medley by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
The Author
The Hall
The Busy Man
Family Servants
The Widow
The Lovers
Family Reliques
An Old Soldier
The Widow’s Retinue
Ready Money Jack
Bachelors
Wives
Story Telling
The Stout Gentleman
Forest Trees
A Literary Antiquary
The Farm-House
Horsemanship
Love-Symptoms
Falconry
Hawking
St. Mark’s Eve
Gentility
Fortune Telling
Love-Charms
The Library
The Student of Salamanca
English Country Gentlemen
A Bachelor’s Confessions
English Gravity
Gipsies
May-Day Customs
Village Worthies
The Schoolmaster
The School
A Village Politician
The Rookery
May-Day
The Manuscript
Annette Delarbre
Travelling
Popular Superstitions
The Culprit
Family Misfortunes
Lovers’ Troubles
The Historian
The Haunted House
Dolph Heyliger
The Storm-Ship
The Wedding
The Author’s Farewell
Tales of a Traveller, by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
Part I: Strange Stories by a Nervous Gentleman
The Great Unknown
The Hunting Dinner
The Adventure of My Uncle
The Adventure of My Aunt
The Bold Dragoon, or the Adventure of My Grandfather
The Adventure of the German Student
The Adventure of the Mysterious Picture
The Adventure of the Mysterious Stranger
The Story of the Young Italian
Part II: Buckthorne and His Friends
Literary Life
A Literary Dinner
The Club of Queer Fellows
The Poor Devil Author
Notoriety
A Practical Philosopher
Buckthorne, or the Young Man of Great Expectations
Grave Reflections of a Disappointed Man
The Booby Squire
The Strolling Manager
Part III: The Italian Banditti
The Inn at Terracina
The Adventure of the Little Antiquary
The Belated Travellers
The Adventure of the Popkins Family
The Painter’s Adventure
The Story of the Bandit Chieftain
The Story of the Young Robber
The Adventure of the Englishman
Part IV: The Money Diggers
Hell Gate
Kidd the Pirate
The Devil and Tom Walker
Wolfer Webber, or Golden Dreams
The Adventure of the Black Fisherman
The Alhambra
The Journey
Palace of the Alhambra
Important Negotiations—The Author succeeds to the Throne of Boabdil
Inhabitants of the Alhambra
The Hall of Ambassadors
The Jesuits’ Library
Alhamar, the Founder of the Alhambra
Yusef Abul Hagig, the Finisher of the Alhambra
The Mysterious Chambers
Panorama from the Tower of Comares
The Truant
The Balcony
The Adventure of the Mason
The Court of Lions
The Abencerrages
Mementos of Boabdil
Public Fêtes of Granada
Local Traditions
The House of the Weathercock
Legend of the Arabian Astrologer
Visitors to the Alhambra
Relics and Genealogies
The Generalife
Legend of Prince Ahmed al Kamel; or, the Pilgrim of Love
A Ramble Among the Hills
Legend of the Moor’s Legacy
The Tower of Las Infantas
Legend of the Three Beautiful Princesses
Legend of the Rose of Alhambra
The Veteran
The Governor and the Notary
Governor Manco and the Soldier
A Fête in the Alhambra
Legend of the Two Discreet Statues
The Crusade of the Grand Master of Alcántara
Spanish Romance
Legend of Don Munio Sancho De Hinojosa
Poets and Poetry of Moslem Andalus
An Expedition in Quest of a Diploma
The Legend of the Enchanted Soldier
The Author’s Farewell to Granada