Irving, Washington – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk Henley-on-Thames Fri, 28 Nov 2025 19:52:29 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-Bell-Background-Blue-32x32.png Irving, Washington – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk 32 32 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow/ Thu, 09 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=51845 Set in the Hudson Valley in New York State in 1790, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a schoolteacher who is wooing the daughter of a local wealthy farmer. Superstitious and gullible, Crane is a believer in the many supernatural tales circulating in the Dutch community who settled there. Late one autumn night, as he rides home having lost out to a rival suitor, he encounters his worst fear: the headless horseman, thought to be the ghost of a decapitated soldier from the Revolutionary War?

This edition, beautifully illustrated by Arthur Rackham and introduced by Jonathan Kruk, The Legend storyteller, reproduces Irving’s original tale. First published in 1820, it became the inspiration for many adaptations ranging from silent film, animation and blockbuster movies to musicals and graphic novels. It is now inextricably associated with Halloween.

]]> Legend Of Sleepy Hollow & Other Stories https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/legend-of-sleepy-hollow-other-stories/ Tue, 07 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/legend-of-sleepy-hollow-other-stories/ In Irving’s great work, The Sketch Book, fictional historian Diedrich Knickerbocker introduces us to Rip van Winkle, the Dutch colonist who slept through the Revolutionary War; Ichabod Crane, the superstitious, social-climbing schoolmaster; and the pumpkin-topped Headless Horseman, ancestor to countless horror film antiheroes. In addition to ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ and ‘Rip Van Winkle’, The Sketch Book touches on cultural and historical concerns that remain compelling, thanks to Irving’s modern outlook and impressive foresight.

This new edition, with an introduction from Elizabeth L. Bradley, demonstrates how inextricably Irving’s writings are woven into the fabric of American culture – high and low.

]]>