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The Washington Irving Library

The Washington Irving Library

By: Washington Irving
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About this listen

 Welcome, kind listener, to The Washington Irving Library - a quiet corner of the modern world where old tales wander freely once more. Here are gathered the sketches, legends, and curious histories of America’s earliest storyteller, read in full and unhurried, as though beside a hearth on an autumn evening.

From the misty hollows of the Hudson Valley to the rambling pages of forgotten journals, each episode invites you to linger awhile in the company of dreamers, schoolmasters, travellers, and ghosts both merry and melancholy. This library stands ever open, its lamp lit, its pages turning, and its stories ready to be heard anew.Public domain
Episodes
  • Astoria Chapter 23

    Astoria Chapter 23
    Mar 20 2026
    In which a party journeying across the vast and tree-less prairies encounters the clean and gallant Cheyenne tribe, whose admirable horsemanship and shifting fortunes are described with a touch of respectful curiosity and historical reflection. The narrative pauses also to lament the crude renaming of noble landscapes and to muse upon the melancholy and mysterious fate of the native peoples of these great, wind-swept plains.
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    12 mins
  • Astoria Chapter 22

    Astoria Chapter 22
    Mar 20 2026
    In which the steadfast preparations and grim anticipations of a daring expedition into the vast and desolate wilderness of the far West are delicately portrayed, revealing a land of parched plains, rugged mountains, and restless tribes, where the spirit of adventure is tempered by sobering challenges and uneasy alliances. The narrative gently unfolds the forebodings of the party, the murmurings of desertion, and the introduction of a dubious interpreter, as they embark from the Arickara village into the unknown expanse with uncertain hopes and fragile resolve.
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    11 mins
  • Astoria Chapter 21

    Astoria Chapter 21
    Mar 19 2026
    In which an Indian horse fair unfolds with vibrant scenes of Arickara hospitality, the social labours and amusements of men and women, and the mounting tensions wrought by rumours of lurking Sioux enemies. The narrative culminates in a solemn yet triumphant return of a war party, blending festal rejoicing with poignant lamentations that reveal the tender-heartedness beneath the fierce exterior of the plains tribes.
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    23 mins
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