The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

By: Washington Irving

Narrated by: Martin Jarvis

Length: 1 hr and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

The story is set circa 1790 in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town (based on Tarrytown, New York), in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow. It tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a lean, lanky, and extremely superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut, who competes with Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, the town rowdy, for the hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and sole child of a wealthy farmer, Baltus Van Tassel.

As Crane leaves a party he attended at the Van Tassel home on an autumn night, he is pursued by the Headless Horseman, who is supposedly the ghost of a Hessian trooper who had his head shot off by a stray cannonball during "some nameless battle" of the American Revolutionary War, and who "rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head"

Public Domain (P)2013 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Excellent narrator, lame effects

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Martin Jarvis does an excellent reading here, but the attempt to dramatize the story with the use of music and additional voice actors posing as witches and singers took away from the quality of the audiobook. The story doesn't need help to amplify the creepiness. The additional narrator summarized each "chapter" before it started. Why? It's a very short story and simple to understand. The witches were lame and the songs were painful to listen to. I felt it was an attempt to beef up the story and the length of the program, but very poorly executed.

Good reading

I liked Martin Jarvis as the narrator and enjoyed the little sound effects and music as well. May not be for everyone but I enjoyed it.

Beloved Story

I have loved this story since I was in gradeschool. Enjoy hearing it often, never tire of the tale.

Sleepy Hollow Review

This is my favorite audio reading of Sleepy Hollow. I listen to it every year. You will not be disappointed.

Meh.

I could have done without all of the singing and sound effects behind it. the only reason I chose this version is because the narrator's voice was baritone and seemed
befitting.

Got Bored

Would you listen to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow again? Why?

Honestly, I'm not a fan of the story. The narration was good, albeit a little cheesey, but not engaging enough to get and keep my interest.

Computer generated voice is terrible

Would you try another book from Washington Irving and/or Martin Jarvis?

I don't want a computer generated voice. I want a good narration.

What did you like best about this story?

Story is a classic

Any additional comments?

Trying to figure out how to get my money back for the whisper thingie audio part for 2.99. it's really bad.

Disappointed

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Martin Jarvis is dependably good. But why why why add all the insultingly stupid "creepy" music to distract from the simple reading of a great story? If I could return this for cash I would.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was fine.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?

Cut nothing. It is a classic and deserves reading in full.

Any additional comments?

I wish the publisher understood that we didn't buy this for the music but the words and the voice. Can they offer the same product minus the awful music track?

Cool narration of this classic

The ghostly laughter punctuating the chapters of the book are entirely fitting, and set teh scene for this classic ghost story. Martin Jarvis doesn't lay it on his American accent too thickly and thereby prevents it from becoming offputting. I have not read the book, although I had seen the Johnny Depp film, which I realise after listening, took rather large liberties with the text. The book is considerably shorter than I had thought (hence the less than one and a half hour narration), but the description of the ridiculous Crane and the duplicitous Miss Van Tassel are delightful. As for the headless horseman, well you'll just have to find out for yourself...

A delightful story with dark undercurrents

The timeless and irony-laced Sleepy Hollow story very well presented by the teller, with a beautiful use of nuance to match the original writing; you might well detect the smiles and raised eyebrow moments.
Unfortunately, there are brief interludes between the parts which do nothing to illuminate (in every sense) the narrative, being odd songs, cackling and the deep laughter that, it seems, spooks so love...
Worth an Audible listen, but skip the links.

Great performance, bland story

From reviews I expected to hear a gothic horror, but was met with an American Tall Tale with a gothic backdrop. The performance was excellent, and fit the tale perfectly. Adore the narration, which really was the biggest reason I managed to listen to the whole thing.

Don't lose your head!

Wonderfully narrated with some beautiful dark gothic piano accompaniments. This is strong in atmosphere and style but is rather short and leaves you appreciating the quality but questioning whether the heavy degree of quantity is worth the asking price. Well worth using a credit or a sale price for but not worth the full price in my opinion.

It could be shorter...

Whilst I enjoyed the tale, I did not keep with the story all the way through, thought it rambled a little.