The Value of Reading a 200-year-old story in a 100-year-old book

(Bookmark gifted by a 3-year-old grandson who generously shared his truck stickers.)

November 4, 2023

When leaves dance across the walkway and autumn’s chill is in the air, I like to take out an old copy of Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow to get in the mood for Halloween.

This small-format book exhibits the usual signs of wear. The fore edge is darkened by dust and age. The Copyright page is torn out, so I can’t date it exactly, but the publisher – The Platt & Peck Co. in New York – I’ve learned, operated from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. There’s a color plate of the main character, schoolmaster Ichabod Crane, in the beginning on the inside left with the same image replicated on the cover. There is nothing on the back.

The pages are intact, though slightly yellowed, displaying justified handset type, slightly askew occasionally as they pull into the binding. There’s charm in that. The paper stock is weighty and offers a tactile reward. There are lovely, wide margins, relaxing on the eyes, making for a quick, easy read, reminding me that consumable content is important. Interestingly, there is no writing on the spine so perhaps this book was never intended for a library shelf.

But I digress. I’m here to talk about the story – a tale so simple, it’s child-like, but as with many classics, can be enjoyed by adults who read between the lines.

This is not a monumental literary work but rather, a dutiful account of life in Colonial America, in New York state along the Hudson River, during the years preceding 1815-1819 when it was written. It was originally published in installments as part of “The Sketch Book.”

I’ve learned that Washington Irving spent time in Tarrytown, NY (where Sleepy Hollow is set; yes, there’s a real town by that name) in 1798, when he and his family escaped a Yellow Fever epidemic in New York City.

This experience supports the adage “write what you know,” because through his details, I can feel the forest, smell the earth, and see the expanse of water that is the river. (It doesn’t hurt that I grew up in the region and can attest to his accuracy.)

“The forests had put on their sober brown and yellow, while some trees of the tenderer kind had been nipped by the frost into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet. Streaming files of wild ducks began to make their appearance high in the air.”… “On all sides he beheld vast store of apples; some hanging in oppressive opulence on the trees, some gathered into baskets and barrels for the markets, others heaped up in rich piles for the cider-press. Farther on, he beheld great fields of Indian corn, with its golden ears peeping from their leafy coverts, holding out the promise of cakes and hasty pudding.”

Some of the words and phrases are antiquated, but that’s all the more charming; the gist is clear. Irving paces his writing like a campfire tale, spoken in the slow voice of a dramatic storyteller. On occasion, he steps aside and refers to himself as the humble narrator. (I tried to emulate a similar style in Silver Line.) Irving’s role is not to interpret the plot but to relay it in the context of the times – in an era rife with New World mystery and superstition among the old Dutch families who inhabited the area.

Irving captures this uneasiness by telling of legends that lurk in the idyllic countryside. He notes the Hollow is near the place where British Spy, John Andre, was hanged and where a Hessian soldier, around Halloween of 1776, had been decapitated during the Battle of White Plains. (This, per a New York Historical Society account, October 25, 2013).

Like all good characters, Ichabod is flawed. He’s a man prone to indulgences despite his persona of a lanky, austere teacher (or ‘pedagogue’ as Irving calls him). Fact is, Crane covets the affluent lifestyle enjoyed by his love interest, the pretty and plump Katrina Van Tassel. Ichabod’s weakness for food is revealed as he craves the pies, meats, and rich dumplings offered at the Van Tassel home – an estate he might well inherit if he were to wed the fair Katrina.

Of course, there’s an antagonist, the large, arrogant Dutchman, Brom Bones, who vies for the attention of the wealthy damsel. He torments Ichabod, and we immediately dislike the bully because that behavior is still relevant today.

Poor Ichabod. In a single night, he is jilted by his love interest and forced to ride through the darkest recesses of the forest, places where hauntings have occurred and might again, only to encounter a towering menace on a black steed – the headless horsemen of whom he has heard so much.

Here’s where Irving does something right, reminding us (writers) about the importance of foreboding, flash forwards, and making the reader feel smart. When Ichabod can’t be found after his night of terror, only his saddle and a smashed pumpkin remain. Irving never explains why the pumpkin is there but lets the reader connect the dots to the “head” that was carried.

I think I particularly enjoyed re-reading this little story (a few pages at a time, over morning coffee) because it did not try to be more than it was. Authenticity is a good goal for people who play with words.

 

 

How Silver Line Came to Be

 

Silver Line is a tale by truest definition. It’s a simple story, an easy read that rolls along, combining folklore and a contemporary plot to connect modern day Boston with an 1860s mining town in Colorado.

That’s a stretch, you say? Not so much when you have the benefit of bending time.

Inspiration for the historical theme came many years ago, when traveling cross-country. In that trek, we discovered tangible evidence of the past — items discarded in forgotten towns, on well-worn trails, in trash heaps. The dry desert heat preserved much of it, and I use that premise to start the story.

[The photo here shows two separate finds – an old oil can and what appears to be a plaque from a Victorian photo album. In that Silver Line is set, in part, against the political climate of the Civil War and the gilded ambiance of the Victorian Age, these two items seem to be a fitting illustration.]

In our journeys, we also stumbled upon the legend of Silverheels that has rattled around my brain ever since. Silverheels was a beautiful dance hall girl who cared for the sick during an epidemic – but surely there’s more to that story. Silver Line does not attempt to retell the legend but uses it as a springboard for likely characters and timely adventures.

Somewhere in the process, I toyed with the expression, “Hindsight is a wonderful thing.” I also thought, “Foresight is as well.” And then I asked myself: “What if we could combine the two?”

How wild it would be if my young characters could benefit from the wisdom of the past and use it to shape their future. Sure, they could learn from grandparents and teachers, but what if they could learn from themselves? What if they could witness their former, older selves from the perspective of naïve voyeurs? That would surely complicate and heat up an innocent relationship.

This is what happens to Sarah Sutherland’s son, Jared, as he heads off to college, and to Alexa, the young woman who befriends him. Together, they not only experience the rigors of the western frontier but come face-to-face with a modern mystery:  the unsolved Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum heist of 1990, whose artwork has never been found. Jared, an aspiring journalist, is bent on finding it.

How could I possibly interweave the two? Wait and see.

I must admit, I did have fun finding links, lines, and coincidences… (some even surprised me!). I dared to connect dots and make assumptions. And like any character with extrasensory ability, I tried to see things that others don’t. I also drew on personal experiences — remembering the feel of wide-open spaces in the Rockies and the awe of strolling through dark museum rooms in the presence of Old Masters. Hopefully, you’ll experience and enjoy these vivid impressions through my words.

For those of you who ‘fell in love’ with Sarah in Tory Roof, fear not. She’s still here – just in the background. The timeline is 7 years later, and Jared is 18.

Ideal for the young-and-in-love (New Adult) … and for those who remember what it was like.