
The Complete Short Stories of Washington Irving: The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Tales of a Traveller, Bracebridge Hall, The Alhambra, Woolfert's Roost & The Crayon Papers (Illustrated) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle, Old Christmas...By Washington IrvingLength74h 55m
About this audiobook
Gathering Irving's major short-fiction collections—from The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon to The Alhambra, Bracebridge Hall, Tales of a Traveller, Woolfert's Roost, and The Crayon Papers—this volume traces the formation of an American prose tradition in dialogue with European romance, travel writing, folklore, and genteel satire. Irving's graceful, ironic style moves between antiquarian reverie, picturesque description, comic social observation, and the supernatural, producing enduring tales such as "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" within a wider transatlantic literary context. Washington Irving (1783–1859), born in New York and long resident in Europe, was among the first American authors to achieve international literary distinction. His diplomatic service in Spain, fascination with history, and intimate knowledge of British literary culture shaped his cosmopolitan imagination. Writing as Geoffrey Crayon, he transformed travel, memory, and legend into artful sketches that reflect both national self-invention and Old World inheritance. This illustrated edition is recommended for readers seeking the breadth of Irving's achievement beyond a few famous stories. Scholars, students, and general readers alike will find here a foundational body of American literature: elegant, humorous, haunted, and historically revealing.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenreGeneral Fiction, Literary Classics
Length74 hrs 55 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJun 6, 2015
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Author Biography
4Historical Context
5Synopsis (Selection)
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6The Complete Short Stories of Washington Irving: The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Tales of a Traveller, Bracebridge Hall, The Alhambra, Woolfert’s Roost & The Crayon Papers (Illustrated)
7INTRODUCTION:
8SPEECH: NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 18, 1842 by Charles Dickens
9BIOGRAPHY OF WASHINGTON IRVING by Charles Dudley Warner
10I. PRELIMINARY
11II. BOYHOOD
12III. MANHOOD — FIRST VISIT TO EUROPE
13IV. SOCIETY AND “SALMAGUNDI”
14V. THE KNICKERBOCKER PERIOD
15VI. LIFE IN EUROPE — LITERARY ACTIVITY
16VII. IN SPAIN
17VIII. RETURN TO AMERICA — SUNNYSIDE — THE MISSION TO MADRID
18IX. THE CHARACTERISTIC WORKS
19X. LAST YEARS — THE CHARACTER OF HIS LITERATURE
20COLLECTIONS OF SHORT STORIES:
21THE SKETCH BOOK OF GEOFFREY CRAYON, GENT.
22THE AUTHOR’S ACCOUNT OF HIMSELF
23THE VOYAGE
24ROSCOE
25THE WIFE
26RIP VAN WINKLE
27ENGLISH WRITERS ON AMERICA
28RURAL LIFE IN ENGLAND
29THE BROKEN HEART
30THE ART OF BOOK-MAKING
31A ROYAL POET
32THE COUNTRY CHURCH
33THE WIDOW AND HER SON
34A SUNDAY IN LONDON
35THE BOAR’S HEAD TAVERN, EASTCHEAP
36THE MUTABILITY OF LITERATURE
37RURAL FUNERALS
38THE INN KITCHEN
39THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM
40WESTMINSTER ABBEY
41CHRISTMAS
42THE STAGECOACH
43CHRISTMAS EVE
44CHRISTMAS DAY
45THE CHRISTMAS DINNER
46LONDON ANTIQUES
47LITTLE BRITAIN
48STRATFORD-ON-AVON
49TRAITS OF INDIAN CHARACTER
50PHILIP OF POKANOKET