The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

I first heard a recording of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow a few years ago - 2010 according to Goodreads - and, having then recently seen the Johnny Depp film version, I was very distracted by trying to mesh the two tales. The film is very different to Washington Irving's original storyline. Now, for Halloween 2014, Audible.co.uk offered members a new recording for free so I gave the story another chance and am glad I did. The narrator, Tom Mison, is apparently in a TV series set in Sleepy Hollow, but he also does an excellent job of the reading. I love Irving's detailed descriptions of the town and its residents, their appearances and especially their food! I was surprised that, despite references to the headless horseman, he is quite a peripheral character making this a less spooky tale than I expected although, this time around, a satisfying one. Perhaps even more story would have been nice? I have updated my star rating from three to four!

Most people know the story of Sleepy Hollow, we have probably seen a movie or the TV show. But how accurate are these adaptations to the book? The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is probably Washington Irving’s best known short story. Appearing in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent along with the story that is often a companion to Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow tells the story of Ichabod Crane in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town and his encounters with the Headless Horseman.

There are many pop culture references to the Headless Horseman as well as adaptations. I remember Tim Burton directing a movie adaptation starting Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci and of course the more recent TV show. Although I cannot think of one reference or adaptation that seemed to get the story right. For starters, the TV show likes to portray Ichabod Crane as a gentleman (although a turncoat) but I got a very different experience in Washington Irving’s short story. I found Ichabod Crane to be a greedy character that wanted everything; from riches to notoriety.

The story is told as an investigation into the supernatural, trying to unlock the legend of the Headless Horseman. This worked really well, Washington Irving had a great ability in creating an atmosphere. As a reader I felt like I could picture everything he was writing and it really helped set the tension. Irving wrote beautiful words and combining this with the atmosphere, I felt myself fully immersed in the settlement of Tarry Town.

Having said that, the plot did not really go anywhere and it felt like it was over before it really got started. I think this story could have done with more pages, allowing to build the plot and characters in greater detail. There are some interesting themes of wealth, nature and truth but for the most part I felt it was lacking. I like the way Washington Irving wrote and I am glad that I finally know the story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow now, even if it was just an average tale.

This review originally appeared on my blog; www.knowledgelost.org/book-reviews/genre/horror/legend-sleepy-hollow-washington-irving/