Washington Irving's most famous tales + biography and historical background.

1. SLEEPY HOLLOW
The story is set in a Dutch
settlement called Tarrytown, New
York, in the lonely, secluded
valley of Sleepy Hollow.
Old Dutch Church
and Burying Grounds
Headless Horseman
Bridge

2. Written by Washington Irving, published in
1820.
When he wrote the story, Irving was living in
Birmingham, England, but he had visited
Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow which are villages
that sit beside the Hudson River in New York.
Irving also wrote “Rip Van Winkle” which is
a famous story that takes place in the
Catskill Mountains of New York.
There is even a stamp
commemorating the story.

3. He was the first American writer to
become famous. He wrote the first
history of New York, but is best known
for his short stories, like The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow and Rip van Winkle. He
was also a lawyer, a journalist and a
diplomat in Madrid and London. He
loved adventure books and travelling. In
fact, he travelled from Seville to
Granada (visiting Malaga, too). After
that, in London, he wrote “Tales of the
Alhambra”. He lived in his home
“Sunnyside” in Tarrytown, near New
York.

4. The original story which inspired Washington
Irving, “The Headless Horseman” or “The
Galloping Hessian of the Hollow”, tells us
about a Dutchman who left a tavern in
Tarrytown on a cold winter night. On his way
home, he passed near the Sleepy Hollow
Cemetery, where a headless Hessian (German)
soldier was buried. People told stories about a
galloping ghost at the tavern, so he was very
nervous and frightened...

5. ...In the darkness, he saw a light in the
cemetery and a white mist coming from a
grave forming into a horse with a headless
rider! Screaming because the horse was after
him, the Dutchman run towards the bridge, as
he knew ghosts could not cross running water.
He fell on the snow and the ghost left him
behind. The horseman was wearing the
Hessian uniform. The Dutchman waited for
an hour hidden in the bushes. Then he went
back home.

6. Early in the 17th century, the
Mayflower reached the coast of
north America and established
the first colony: Plymouth
(Massachussets). The settlers
were British and Dutch. The
Dutch people came from Holland
and years later settled in the area
around the Hudson River (New
Jersey) and founded New
Amsterdam (later New York).

7. Two centuries later, when the story of Rip
van Winkle takes place, the area was a British
colony. Settlers had to pay a lot of taxes to
the British government. They got tired and
protested. For example, in Boston they threw
many boxes of tea to the ocean. It made the
British very angry and soldiers killed many
workers. The settlers wanted to live in an
independent country and fought against the
British in the War of Independence (1775–
1783). The story of Sleepy Hollow takes
place after the war. The first president of the
new country was George Washington.

8. In the story, Ichabod Crane was
very popular among the ladies
because he was a “man of
letters.” He was the school
teacher. Education in this time
was a luxury, so many men
envied him. He would often walk
with “country ladies” along the
banks of the river.
The men of the town, especially
Brom Bones, disliked Ichabod
because the women found him
very interesting and attractive.

9. The climax of the story begins when
Ichabod leaves a party at the Van
Tassels’ home. He is upset because he
has discovered that Katrina danced with
him to make Brom Bones jealous.
As he rides home, he is suddenly
pursued by what is supposedly the
headless ghost of a Hessian soldier.
(Hessian soldiers were from German
states and fought in the American
Revolution.)

10. The next day Ichabod’s horse was found
wandering in a pasture, but Ichabod was
never seen again. Some said that he was
dead; others said he was too terrified to
return to Sleepy Hollow.
Brom Bones smiled when the story of
Ichabod’s disappearance was told. Did
that mean he disguised as the headless
horseman to get rid of his only competitor
for the love of Katrina?
We will never know.