Rip Van Winkle and Other Stories (Puffin Classics) (Paperback)

But it is not merely his ground-breaking efforts that garnered him literary recognition, because Irving's stories are at the same time characterized by charming and colourful prose befitting a skilled writer. The stories in this collection (the "Puffin Classics" series) are an excellent sampling of his craft. It's not always easy reading - in fact many of these stories would be too dense even for older children. His vocabulary is extensive, and sentences structure verbose and lengthy - a style rather unlike that employed by contemporary writers. But despite this, Irving demonstrates a wonderful command of the English language, and has the ability to create a vivid picture of his setting, characters and events. Particularly delightful is the attention he devotes to describing his characters. And yet his stories are far from mere character portraits - they are exciting and enchanting tales that make the reader eager to find out the outcome.

"Rip Van Winkle" has gained the status of a classic, and is familiar to most children, but likely few have read Irving's original. It breathes an authenticity and air not found in the contemporary abridged versions of the story. Irving presents his tale as the alleged discovered manuscript (complete with postscript) of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker. The delightful story of Rip Van Winkle - who fell asleep in the Catskill mountains after drinking a mysterious brew acquired from some strange little men, and then awoke 20 years later - will continue to please readers old and new. In the course of the story, Irving makes a profound social comment about the changes happening in his America. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is renowned for its chilling tale of the Headless Horseman, and is a Halloween favorite. Actually, however, it is much more than that. It is not so much a spooky tale of a legendary village ghost as it is a colourful tale about two rival suitors. Ichabod Crane is a simple school teacher who is in love with Katrina Van Tassel, and equally in love with the estates of her father, a wealthy Dutch farmer. His counter-part is the powerful local hero Bram Bones, whose affections for Katrina mirror those of Ichabod Crane, and who is determined to put an end to the affections of underdog Crane by a mysterious and elaborate trickery. As is evident also in his other stories, it is particularly fascinating how Irving exploits the supernatural superstitions of the popular mind to create a sense of mystery and fear, but himself gives a naturalist explanation that rises above such popular notions by explaining the supernatural with natural events.

Though lesser known, the other three stories in the "Puffin Classics" collection are equally enjoyable. "The Spectre Bridegroom" is one of the most fascinating tales in the collection. A young man is mistaken for a bridegroom and received into the castle of a wealthy baron as the husband of the baron's daughter. But before the marriage can be consummated, the bridegroom dashes off, and the baron's family hears shortly afterwards that he's been killed. But then who appears again except the bridegroom - or is it his ghost? - to steal his bride and vanish once more! In the end, it is a satisfying tale more of brilliant scheming than of ghosts - although the fearful superstitions of the general public about the supernatural play an important role in the effective execution of these schemes. "The Pride of the Village" is the tragic tale of a young lady whose heart pines in love for an army officer who has deserted her, only to die at his feet when he returns. "Mountjoy" is a wonderful study of an apparently incurable romantic, described by Irving as a "Castle-Builder". When Mr. Mountjoy discovers a delicate footprint on a sandy shore, his passion for metaphysics, creativity and romance leads him to dream up an imaginary beautiful young maiden, and he promptly fall passionately in love with the nymph of his dreams. The air castle he builds and its accompanying romanticism is crushed numerous times, even drowned, but each time is renewed and revived, just when it seems that "the cobweb romance I had been spinning" would be demolished completely. In the end Mr. Mountjoy meets the girl of his dreams, only to discover that his air castles need to be reshaped once more, and in the end, destroyed completely.

Readers used to the easy diet of modern fiction will find the pioneering work of Washington Irving rather tough to chew on. But those who delight in tasting words, biting on imaginative characters and settings, with a few sips of suspense and supernatural in the process, will discover that Washington Irving's stories are just the literary serving they are renowned to be: a classic. Irving won't please all children of the modern era. But children of literature who have acquired a fine literary taste will find that despite the heightened language of his time, Irving is still digestible and enjoyable.