Rip Van Winkle & Other Stories By Washington Irving [Audio Cassette]

Washington Irving (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993

The youngest of 11 children of a successful New York hardware merchant, Washington Irving was born in 1783. While sometimes a biographer (he published works on Christopher Columbus and George Washington), he is best known for his short fiction.

This collection includes: "Rip Van Winkle," "The Spectre Bridegroom," "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," "The Adventure of the German Student," "The Devil and Tom Walker," "The Adventure of the Mason," "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra," "The Governor and the Notary" and "Governor Manco and the Soldier."

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

5 1-hour cassettes

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Books on Tape, Inc. (January 1, 1993)
• ISBN-10: 0736623523
• ISBN-13: 978-0736623520
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,658,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Books on Cassette > Authors, A-Z > ( I ) > Irving, Washington

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Great American Storyteller, February 5, 2002

By 

J. Mullin (Plantation, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rip Van Winkle & Other Stories By Washington Irving (Audio Cassette)

Washington Irving has been called the father of American Literature, and without a doubt he appears to be one of the first great storytellers of our nation, later succeeded by Mark Twain in the late 19th century. Irving's wonderful tales, presented here in a superb audio reading, remind us why Irving has been so immensely popular for 200 years.

The stories are quite diverse, and many take place in foreign locales such as Germany, Paris, and the Alhambra in Spain. However readers will be most familiar with Irving's classic tales of the Catskills and Hudson River Valley, Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. For readers familiar with Tim Burton's recent gothic interpretation of the latter story, you may be surprised to learn that Irving's tale is more of a period piece about the battle for the affection of a young lady (Katrina Van Tassel) then a murder mystery starring the legendary headless horseman. And while a modern reader might get a little tired of hearing about the culinary delicacies which tempted schoolteacher Ichabod Crane, anybody would enjoy the detailed settings and timeless narrative style employed in these tales.

Irving had a knack for effectively setting the scene for a story, describing the bend of the great river and the hamlets (such as Tareytown) which are depicted in these tales. I believe they are best enjoyed in audio format, where a typical 30 minute commute might enable you to hear a single story during one sitting. These tales are well-read by Donada Peters, whose voice struck me as a cross between Angela Lansbury and Vanessa Redgrave. These tales are timeless, and while some tales are certainly better than others ( I thought the Tale of the Mason was pretty weak in particular) there is something to enjoy in each of them.