Tales of a Traveler

by Washington Irving

Tales of a Traveler tells a number of humorous stories and anecdotes about exotic dinners and the European travels of Geoffrey Crayon and his colorful relatives. Full of dry wit, Tales of a Traveler will please readers today as much as it pleased them in the early 19th century. Washington Irving is one of America's most enduring, and beloved authors. For nothing else, people know Washington Irving as the author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Ebooks, Travel, American, Historical Fiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1824

About the author

People remember American writer Washington Irving for the stories " Rip Van Winkle " and " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ," contained in The Sketch Book (1820).

This author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century wrote newspaper articles under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle to begin his literary career at the age of nineteen years.

In 1809, he published The History of New York under his most popular public persona, Diedrich Knickerbocker.

Historical works of Irving include a five volume biography of George Washington (after whom he was named) as well as biographies of Oliver Goldsmith, Muhammad, and several histories, dealing with subjects, such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors, and the Alhambra, of 15th-century Spain. John Tyler, president, appointed Irving to serve as the first Spanish speaking United States minister to Spain from 1842 to 1846.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Washington Irving has a master talent for storytelling. His tales capture a reader's imagination and draw one into his tales. Some appealed to me more than others but all are a gem to enjoy.

PART I
STRANGE STORIES BY A NERVOUS GENTLEMAN:
The Great Unknown - 3.5 Stars
The Hunting-Dinner - 4 Stars
The Adventure of my Uncle - 5 Stars
The Adventure of my Aunt - 3.5 Stars
The Bold Dragoon, or the Adventure of my Grandfather - 4 Stars
The Adventure of the German Student - 5 Stars
The Adventure of the Mysterious Picture - 4 Stars
The Adventure of the Mysterious Stranger - 4.5 Stars
The Story of the Young Italian - 5 Stars

PART II
BUCKTHORNE AND HIS FRIENDS:
Literary Life - 3 Stars
A Literary Dinner - 3.25 Stars
The Club of Queer Fellows - 3.5 Stars
The Poor-Devil Author - 4.5 Stars
Notoriety - 3 Stars
A Practical Philosopher - 3.25 Stars
Buckthorne, or the Young Man of Expectations - 5 Stars
Grave Reflections of a Disappointed Man - 4 Stars
The Booby Squire - 4 Stars
The Strolling Manager - 4.5 Stars

PART III
THE ITALIAN BANDITTI:
The Inn at Terracina - 4 Stars
The Adventure of the Little Antiquary - 3.5 Stars
The Belated Travellers - 4 Stars
The Adventure of the Popkins Family - 3.5 Stars
The Painter's Adventure - 4 Stars
The Story of the Bandit Chieftain - 4.5 Stars
The Story of the Young Robber - 5 Stars
The Adventure of the Englishman - 5 Stars

PART IV.
THE MONEY-DIGGERS:
Hell-Gate - 3.25 Stars
Kidd the Pirate - 3.5 Stars
The Devil and Tom Walker - 5 Stars
Wolfert Webber, or Golden Dreams - 4 Stars
The Adventure of the Black Fisherman - 5 Stars

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

PART FIRST
STRANGE STORIES BY A NERVOUS GENTLEMAN.
The Great Unknown [a preface] - 3.5 Stars
A Hunting Dinner - 4 Stars
Adventure of my Uncle - 5 Stars
Adventure of my Aunt - 3.5 Stars
The Bold Dragoon, or the Adventure of my Grandfather - 4 Stars
The Adventure of the German Student - 5 Stars
The Adventure of the Mysterious Picture - 4 Stars
The Adventure of the Mysterious Stranger - 4.5 Stars
The Story of the Young Italian - 5 Stars

PART SECOND
BUCKTHORNS AND HIS FRIENDS.
Literary Life - 3 Stars
A Literary Dinner - 3.25 Stars
The Club of Queer Fellows - 3.5 Stars
The Poor-Devil Author - 4.5 Stars
Notoriety - 3 Stars
A Practical Philosopher - 3.25 Stars
Buckthorne, or the Young Man of Expectations - 5 Stars
Grave Reflections of a Disappointed Man - 4 Stars
The Booby Squire - 4 Stars
The Strolling Manager - 4.5 Stars

PART THIRD
THE ITALIAN BANDITTI.
The Inn at Terracina - 4 Stars
The Adventure of the Little Antiquary - 3.5 Stars
The Belated Travellers - 4 Stars
The Adventure of the Popkins Family - 3.5 Stars
The Painter's Adventure - 4 Stars
The Story of the Bandit Chieftain - 4.5 Stars
The Story of the Young Robber - 5 Stars
The Adventure of the Englishman - 5 Stars

[Delanie Dooms · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this successively from The Complete Tales Of Washington Irving and then, when I realized I had a different copy, from Bracebridge Hall / Tales of a Traveller / The Alhambra. Charles Neider's introductory discussion of the text, plus his inclusion of a portion of a letter written by Irving, helped color my view of this work, although, in the case of the former, I do not totally agree with our esteemed editor.

There are four sections in this collection ("Strange Stories by a Nervous Gentleman", "Buckthorne and his Friends", "The Italian Banditti", and "The Money-Diggers"), all of which center around a particular theme--for example, "Strange Stories by a Nervous Gentleman" is a series of (often satirical) paranormal stories (concluding with one concerning the passions). Each section was fantastic to read, but I didn't like "The Italian Banditti" as much as the others. It contains Irving's characteristic humor (especially surrounding the English gentleman and Englishmen in general), but the allure of banditry seems to be lost on me (perhaps due to ignorance, perhaps not; I dislike the Western genre as a whole, and only know Robin Hood and the Shakespearean appeal to woodland living as representations of 'rugged' nature romanticized); thus, some part of what Irving was attempting to convey (and then, criticize) was lost for me.

From Irving's introduction, these stories were written with a moral in mind, and, when that moral was conceived, the marked attempt to hide it under lots of seasoning (like when one buys flavored medicine for children or takes their pills in food). I found Irving's introduction pointed in the right direction for the proceeding work, so that, whilst reading, I was given the ability to think deeper about the stories and their meaning to Irving and myself. Assuredly, other readers will be able to do the same, thus allowing for "myself" to be replaced with "ourselves". Some stories, like "The Devil and Tom Walker", emphatically make their points (in this case, about the evils of slavery and other dishonest means of money-making), but others are more hidden, like Wolfert Webber's chronicle, where we can read into the story themes of class, time, progress, imagination, and numerous other things. (Do not get me wrong, it is not necessarily difficult to find a moral in Webber's tale, but what I mean to say is that it is more complicated.)

I think that some of these stories could be compared with other stories--I imagine most stories could be. For example, the tale about Buckthorne, his loss of great expectations, and his ruined poetical spirit, could easily be compared with the mindset that Anne (from L. M. Montgomery's series of novels) displays. Her romanticized world--so enchanting, even to the most dull--is far different from the world which Irving delineates, where all fancy is ruined or found to be folly, and where that heavy emphasis on practical philosophy (the ability to keep good cheer and learn from the bad that happens in life, basically) is interwoven throughout.

Interestingly, I find that that Diedrich Knickerbocker section of this collection (that is: the final section) seems to correspond with other New English literature upon folk stories. Granting that I have only read one work of the sort-- Sam Lawson's Oldtown Fireside Stories, by Harriet Beecher Stowe--I still find the similarity striking, for in one of the latter book's many stories, we see an account of treasure hunters after Captain Kidd's gold, and the supernatural elements align exactly with Irving's description. (Kidd seemed to enthrall the minds of these people.) Stowe attempted in another Oldtown text to preserve in some way the New English way of life which she grew up with, and, I feel, one can interpret Sam Lawson under the guidance of this same goal, thus making clear the folktale origin of her tale and also of Irving's description of common legends.

I didn't take that many notes whilst reading this, preferring to be swept up by Irving's powerful prose (he was such a good writer, I have come to find; conveying information easily, with interesting imagery and characterization, and a string of hilarious remarks almost always), and thus all I can say is to read this if one is willing to settle down for a while and dream.

(Queen Victoria was born in 1819, this book was published in 1824; thus does one see my shelf.)

[Mark Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Appearing in 1824 to unfavorable reviews, it has stood the test of time very well. I used to play the Authors card game with my siblings and this is one of the four titles on every card of the Washington Irving suit. Written in Europe, many of these short tales are set in England, Italy and France - but the final of its four sections (The Money Diggers) is all American, set in New York, Irving's native city. One of this section's famous tales, The Devil and Tom Walker, shows clearly that Irving's feelings about slavery (which was legal throughout the more than seven decades of his lifetime) were much like what ours are today. However in a prefatory note To the Reader he states "I am for curing the world with gentle alteratives, not by violent doses; indeed the patient should never be conscious that he is taking a dose... I have often hid my moral from sight, and disguised it as much as possible by sweets and spices, so that while the simple reader is listening with open mouth to a ghost or love story, he may have a bolus of sound morality popped down his throat, and never be the wiser for the fraud." And effective indeed were Irving's "sweets and spices" on this simple reader, tickling my funny bone, piquing my suspense, refreshing my spirits - even moistening my eyes a time or two.

[John Hatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of stories by an excellent story-teller!

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The bicentennial of Tales of a Traveller (1824) by Washington Irving is worthy of celebration. Irving was a pioneer fiction writer, biographer, and observer of the early republic. He was also a pioneer of the U. S. folk horror literary category. Tales of a Traveller is itself a treasure trove of folk legends, strange tales, droll comedy, and night action.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an audio book from LibriVox.

https://librivox.org/tales-of-a-trave...

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An election into Americana

[Roxane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short Stories - some were very good - some not so good. It is broken into four sections: Part One - Strange Stories by a Nervous Gentleman (A Hunting Dinner); Part Two - Buckthorne and His Friends (Literary Life); Part Three - The Italian Banditti (Inn at Terracinia); Part Four - The Money Diggers (Hell Gate).

[Adrian Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories that the author wrote while living in Europe. It begins with a series of ghost stories, then tells the back stories of s number of people from literary scholars to Italian bandits, and finishes with a group of stories about treasure hunting in New England. An impressive read of portraits of lives from all parts of the world and many different walks of life.

[TheQueensBooksII · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful, old-fashioned homespun tales of swashbuckling, damsels in distress, etc. etc.