Tales of a Traveller

This collection by the author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow recounts the experiences of an American abroad in the early nineteenth century.

In Tales of a Traveller, renowned essayist and short story writer Washington Irving turns his talents to the genre of travel writing. Based on his excursions across Europe, Irving tells of the people he meets in France, England, Italy, and elsewhere, recounting the many tall tales they tell him.

First published in 1824, this collection includes the narrative of a young German student living in Paris during the French Revolution; an account of Italian bandits who prey on travelers on the road to Naples; and legends of the pirate Captain Kidd, including the story “The Devil and Tom Walker,” which served as the inspiration for Stephen Vincent Benét’s “The Devil and Daniel Webster.”