Bracebridge Hall, or The Humorists, A Medley was written by Washington Irving

Washington Irving

Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...

 in 1821, while he lived in England, and published in 1822. This episodic novel was originally published under his pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon.

Plot introduction

As this is a location-based series of character sketches, there are a number of individual plots. The tales centre on the occupants of an English manor (based on Aston Hall

Aston Hall

Aston Hall is a municipally owned Jacobean-style mansion in Aston, Birmingham, England. Washington Irving used it as the model for Bracebridge Hall in his stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.-History:...

, near Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England, which was occupied by members of the Bracebridge family and which Irving visited).

Plot summary

As this is a series of character sketches, the most effective way currently to describe this book is to list the contents.

Volume I

1. The Author
2. The Hall
3. The Busy Man
4. Family Servants
5. The Widow
6. The Lovers
7. Family Reliques
8. An Old Soldier
9. The Widow's Retinue
10. Ready Money Jack
11. Bachelors
12. Wives
13. Story Telling
14. The Stout Gentleman
15. Forest Trees
16. A Literary Antiquary
17. The Farm-House
18. Horsemanship
19. Love-Symptoms
20. Falconry
21. Hawking
22. St. Mark's Eve
23. Gentility
24. Fortune Telling
25. Love-Charms
26. The Library
27. The Student of Salmanaca

Volume II

1. English Country Gentleman
2. A Bachelor's Confessions
3. English Gravity
4. Gipsies
5. May-Day Customs
6. Village Worthies
7. The Schoolmaster
8. The School
9. A Village Politician
10. The Rookery
11. May-Day
12. The Manuscript
13. Annette Delarbre
14. Travelling
15. Popular Superstitions
16. The Culprit
17. Family Misfortunes
18. Lovers' Troubles
19. The Historian
20. The Haunted House
21. Dolph Heyliger
22. The Storm-Ship
23. The Wedding
24. The Author's Farewell

Release details

• 1822, USA, C.S. Van Winkle. Pub date May 21, 1822, Hardback (in 2 volumes — original edition). While American copies have the name C.S. Van Winkle on the title page, the original bindings bear the inscription "Published by M&S Thomas, Philadelphia" on the spine. See Works, 9:xxivn28.
• 1822, UK, John Murray, Pub date May 23, 1822, Hardback.
• 1823, Berlin, German translation.
• 1836, USA, Carey, Lea and Blanchard, Pub date ? 1836, Hardback (in 2 volumes).
• 1869, USA, G.P. Putnam and Son, Pub date ? ? 1869, Hardback.
• 1890, London, Edinburgh & New York, T. Nelson and Sons, Pub date ? ? 1890, Hardback.
• 1978, USA, Sleepy Hollow Restorations ISBN 0-912882-35-2, Pub date 1 October 1978, Hardback.
• 1990, USA, Ams Pr ISBN 0-404-03508-6, Pub date 1 June 1990, Hardback.
• 1991, USA, Library of America: Bracebridge Hall, Tales of a Traveller, The Alhambra, Pub date March 1, 1991. ISBN 978-0940450592.

External links

• Bracebridge Hall (Caldecott illustrated edition) at Google Books.