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Sleepy Hollow as American Myth - by Steve A Wiggins (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- Set near Tarrytown, New York, Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" has become mythic in American culture.
- About the Author: Steve A. Wiggins is an independent scholar who has taught at Rutgers University, Montclair State University, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Carroll College, and Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary.
- 232 Pages
- Literary Criticism, American
Description
About the Book
"Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is an American myth. Translated to film shortly after the birth of the movie industry, this short story became mythic through repeated retelling. Although two major films come immediately to mind--Disney's 1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad and, fifty years later, Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow--the tale has had a host of afterlives. We will explore these movies and many others, as well as television adaptations and even contemporary novels, in order to explore how this gothic, but comic, story became a cultural landmark. The early pairing of the legend with Halloween fueled the growth of both together. Burton's film brought the story back to the adult world of horror, opening the floodgates to new adaptations. In 2013 Fox Television aired Sleepy Hollow, a re-imagining of Ichabod Crane and Rip Van Winkle. Although lasting only four seasons, this new version spun off yet more inventive retellings that have not slowed since. This book explores unexpected connections between the many adaptations of this tale, weaving the story together anew for each generation."-- Provided by publisher.Book Synopsis
Set near Tarrytown, New York, Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" has become mythic in American culture. Its repeated reconceptions range from written works such as Christopher Golden and Ford Lytle Gilmore's Horseman (2005) and Austin Dragon's two Hunt for the Foul Murderer of Ichabod Crane books (2015) to film and TV adaptations such as Etienne Arnaud's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1912), Edward D. Venturini's The Headless Horseman (1922), Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Fox Television's Sleepy Hollow (2013-17) that combined Sleepy Hollow's Ichabod Crane with Irving's other creation, Rip Van Winkle. This book explores the tale's host of afterlives, tracing its path from a gothic, comic story of Crane's encounter with the ominous Headless Horseman to Halloween and horror icon and cultural landmark for generations.
About the Author
Steve A. Wiggins is an independent scholar who has taught at Rutgers University, Montclair State University, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Carroll College, and Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary. He is currently an editor with an academic press in New York City.