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In honor of Hallowe'en, I read (re-read?) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, and what a treat it was. Naturally, I sorta kinda knew the story, but if I had actually read it before, it must have been when I was in 7th grade, or thereabouts, and under orders. It is very well done, full of wicked humor and my copy (OK, my daughter's copy) marvelously illustrated. Irving's descriptions are outstanding, and no more flowery than befits the 19th century. "...the sky was clear and serene, and nature wore that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance...some trees of the tenderer kind had been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet. Streaming files of wild ducks began to make their appearance high in the air; the bark of the squirrel might be heard from the groves of beech and hickory, and the pensive whistle of the quail at intervals from the neighboring stubble- field." Picture the lank and bony Ichabod Crane, a terror to young scholars in the classroom, ingratiating himself with their parents (who lodged and boarded him, turn-about, a week at a time) by helping with farm chores and minding the younger children--"he would sit with a child on one knee, and rock a cradle with his foot for whole hours together." And then, of course, he put himself crosswise of the formidable Brom Bones, when they each set their caps for Katrina Van Tassel, the "blooming lass of fresh eighteen; plump as a partridge; ripe and melting and rosy-cheeked as one of her father's peaches" (I say, Wash, take a cool dip in the stream!). Well, we know how Brom decided to eliminate the competition, now don't we? Fine stuff.
10-31-2017 ( )

La legend de sleepy Hollow et Rip Van Winkle, petits chefs-d'oeuvre merveilleux, sont les deux plus célèbres contes de la littérature américaine

These stories were well-known to me. But I had never actually read them. They provided a great Halloween week treat. This edition, published by the Sleepy Hollow Press, includes twelve illustrations from the original publication thT have been beautifully colored. I thoroughly enjoyed the both stories and illustrations. ( )

When I started getting into this book, I thought to myself "This is what it would look like if Hitchens or Payne wrote fiction." Then I realized what the common thread was between Irving and these two: complete wizardesque mastery of the English language compounded with the gift for selecting the most proper phrase or word for the narrative. Let alone that I enjoyed the stories from that perspective, that they were out-of-whole-cloth archetypes was a wonderful bonus. I enjoyed very much. ( )