The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon

Best known for two American tales, ‘Rip Van Winkle’ and ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,’ this collection gathers thirty-four sketches and stories that Washington Irving published in installments between 1819 and 1820. Writing under the genial persona of Geoffrey Crayon, Irving moves between English country customs, quiet meditations on ruins and old churches, and the two Hudson Valley legends that made him famous. The prose is warm, observant, and touched with gentle humor and nostalgia. The book was a landmark event: it won Irving an international readership and helped prove that an American writer could stand beside the best of English letters. It remains a founding text of the American short story. Available free as a PDF and EPUB download.