The Complete Tales of Washington Irving

by Neider, Charles

• ISBN13: 9780306808401
• ISBN10: 0306808404
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-03-22
• Publisher: Da Capo Press

Summary

Washington Irving (17831859) was the first American literary artist to earn his living solely through his writings and the first to enjoy international acclaim. In addition to his long public service as a diplomat, Irving was amazingly prolific: His collected works fill forty volumes that encompass essays, history, travel writings, and multi-volume biographies of Columbus and Washington. But it is Irving's mastery of suspense, characterization, tempo, and irony that transforms his fiction into virtuoso performances, earning him his reputation as the father of the American short story. Charles Neider has gathered all sixty-one of Irving's tales, originally scattered throughout his many collections of nonfiction essays and sketches, into one magnificent volume. Together, they reveal his wide range: besides the expected classics like "Rip Van Winkle," "The Spectre Bridegroom," "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and "The Devil and Tom Walker," his fiction embraces realistic tales, ghost stories, parodies, legends, fables, and satires. For those familiar only with secondhand retellings of Irving's most famous tales, this collection offers the opportunity to step inside Washington Irving's imagination and partake of its innumerable and timeless pleasures.

Author Biography

Charles Neider is a noted literary critic, editor, and novelist. His many books as editor include Washington Irving’s George Washington: A Biography, The Complete Humorous Sketches and Tales of Mark Twain, The Great West: A Treasury of Firsthand Accountsand The Complete Short Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson. The Complete Essays of Mark Twain, The Autobiography of Mark Twain. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION	xi
RIP VAN WINKLE	1	(16)
THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM	17	(14)
THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW	31	(26)
THE STOUT GENTLEMAN	57	(9)
THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA	66	(56)
ANNETTE DELARBRE	122	(17)
DOLPH HEYLIGER	139	(56)
Strange Stories by a Nervous Gentleman	195	(72)
THE GREAT UNKNOWN [a preface]	195	(2)
THE HUNTING-DINNER	197	(4)
THE ADVENTURE OF MY UNCLE	201	(10)
THE ADVENTURE OF MY AUNT	211	(4)
THE BOLD DRAGOON; or The Adventure of My Grandfather	215	(8)
ADVENTURE OF THE GERMAN STUDENT	223	(5)
ADVENTURE OF THE MYSTERIOUS PICTURE	228	(7)
ADVENTURE OF THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER	235	(7)
THE STORY OF THE YOUNG ITALIAN	242	(25)
Buckthorne and His Friends	267	(94)
LITERARY LIFE	267	(2)
A LITERARY DINNER	269	(3)
THE CLUB OF QUEER FELLOWS	272	(5)
THE POOR-DEVIL AUTHOR	277	(15)
NOTORIETY	292	(2)
A PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHER	294	(2)
BUCKTHORNE: or, the Young Man of Great Expectations	296	(41)
GRAVE REFLECTIONS OF A DISAPPOINTED MAN	337	(5)
THE BOOBY SQUIRE	342	(4)
THE STROLLING MANAGER	346	(15)
The Italian Banditti	361	(68)
THE INN AT TERRACINA	361	(10)
ADVENTURE OF THE LITTLE ANTIQUARY	371	(7)
THE BELATED TRAVELLERS	378	(13)
ADVENTURE OF THE POPKINS FAMILY	391	(5)
THE PAINTER'S ADVENTURE	396	(7)
THE STORY OF THE BANDIT CHIEFTAIN	403	(9)
THE STORY OF THE YOUNG ROBBER	412	(9)
THE ADVENTURE OF THE ENGLISHMAN	421	(8)
The Money-Diggers	429
HELL GATE	429	(3)
KIDD THE PIRATE	432	(5)
THE DEVIL AND TOM WALKER	437	(12)
WOLFERT WEBBER, or Golden Dreams	449	(17)
ADVENTURE OF THE BLACK FISHERMAN*	466	(25)
THE ADVENTURE OF THE MASON	491	(3)
LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER	494	(18)
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL	512	(24)
LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY	536	(21)
LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES	557	(17)
LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA	574	(12)
THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY	586	(7)
GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER	593	(13)
LEGEND OF THE TWO DISCREET STATUES	606	(14)
SPANISH ROMANCE	620	(7)
THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER	627	(13)
WOLFERT'S ROOST	640	(14)
THE CREOLE VILLAGE	654	(7)
MOUNTJOY	661	(32)
THE WIDOW'S ORDEAL	693	(10)
THE GRAND PRIOR OF MINORCA	703	(14)
A CONTENTED MAN	717	(5)
GUESTS FROM GIBBET ISLAND	722	(10)
THE EARLY EXPERIENCES OF RALPH RINGWOOD	732	(26)
THE COUNT VAN HORN	758	(11)
DON JUAN: A SPECTRAL RESEARCH	769	(8)
LEGEND OF THE ENGULPHED CONVENT	777	(5)
THE PHANTOM ISLAND	782
*This tale occurs within "Wolfert Webber."