Washington Irving (1783-1859) was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the 19th century. He is best known for his short stories Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of George Washington and Oliver Goldsmith, and several histories of 15th-century Spain, dealing with subjects such as the Moors and the Alhambra. Contents: INTRODUCTION SPEECH: NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 18, 1842 by Charles Dickens COLLECTIONS OF SHORT STORIES: THE SKETCH BOOK OF GEOFFREY CRAYON, GENT. Rip Van Winkle The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Old Christmas Roscoe The Wife TALES OF A TRAVELLER Strange Stories by a Nervous Gentleman Buckthorne and His Friends The Italian Banditti The Money Diggers BRACEBRIDGE HALL The Busy Man The Widow The Lovers Family Reliques An Old Soldier WOLFERT'S ROOST AND MISCELLANIES THE CRAYON PAPERS TRAVEL SKETCHES AND MEMOIRS: TALES OF THE ALHAMBRA ABBOTSFORD AND NEWSTEAD ABBY A TOUR ON THE PRAIRIES SATIRICAL WORKS: KNICKERBOCKER'S HISTORY OF NEW YORK LETTERS OF JONATHAN OLDSTYLE, GENT. HISTORICAL WORKS: THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN BONNEVILLE ASTORIA CHRONICLE OF THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA LIFE OF OLIVER GOLDSMITH LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON: VOLUME I THE STUDENT'S LIFE OF WASHINGTON DRAMAS: THE WILD HUNTSMAN ABU HASSAN POEMS: ECHO AND SILENCE ON PASSAIC FALLS RHYMED ADDRESS THE DULL LECTURE TO MISS EMILY FOSTER ON HER BIRTHDAY SONG THE LAY OF THE SUNNYSIDE DUCKS SIGNS OF THE TIMES WRITTEN IN THE DEEP DENE ALBUM EXTRACTS FROM ABU HASSAN SONG FROM THE WILD HUNTSMAN CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN WASHINGTON IRVING AND EDGAR ALLAN POE BIOGRAPHY: WASHINGTON IRVING by Charles Dudley Warner