DescriptionHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.‘There was a contagion in the very air that blew from that haunted region; it breathed forth an atmosphere of dreams and fancies infecting all the land.’Featuring ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ and ‘Rip Van Winkle’, this collection of inspired essays, stories and sketches established Washington Irving’s reputation as one of America’s foremost authors. Irving’s timeless characters, including Ichabod Crane, Rip Van Winkle and the headless Hessian trooper, jostle for space alongside 31 equally atmospheric and lyrical works in this haunting anthology from one of America’s most distinctive literary voices.Author BiographyWashington Irving Was born in New York City in 1783. He lived in the United States, England, and Spain (where he served as an American diplomatic attaché). A prolific author, Irving wrote The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., Diedrich Knickerbocker’s History of New York, The Alhambra, and biographies of George Washington and Christopher Columbus, among other works. He is best remembered, however, for his two most famous stories, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle.”