Tales of a Traveller explained

Tales of a Traveller, by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (1824) is a two-volume collection of essays and short stories composed by Washington Irving while he was living in Europe, primarily in Germany and Paris. The collection was published under Irving's pseudonym, Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.

Contents

VOLUME I

After the introductory "To the Reader", Tales of a Traveller is composed of four "Parts."

Part I: Strange Stories by a Nervous Gentleman

• "The Great Unknown"
• "The Hunting Dinner"
• "The Adventure of My Uncle"
• "The Adventure of My Aunt"
• "The Bold Dragoon; or, the Adventure of My Grandfather"
• "The Adventure of the German Student"
• "The Adventure of the Mysterious Picture"
• "The Adventure of the Mysterious Stranger"
• "The Story of the Young Italian"

Part II: Buckthorne and His Friends

• "Literary Life"
• "A Literary Dinner"
• "The Club of Queer Fellows"
• "The Poor-Devil Author"
• "Notoriety"
• "A Practical Philosopher"
• "Buckthorne; or, the Young Man of Great Expectations"

VOLUME II

• "Grave Reflections of a Disappointed Man"
• "The Booby Squire"
• "The Strolling Manager"

Part III: The Italian Banditti

• "The Inn at Terracina"
• "The Adventure of the Little Antiquary"
• "The Belated Travellers"
• "The Adventure of the Popkins Family"
• "The Painter's Adventure"
• "The Story of the Bandit Chieftain"
• "The Story of the Young Robber"
• "The Adventure of the Englishman"

Part IV: The Money Diggers

• "Hell-Gate"
• "Kidd the Pirate"
• "The Devil and Tom Walker"
• "Wolfert Webber, or Golden Dreams"
• "The Adventure of the Black Fisherman"

Reception

Irving thought highly of Tales of a Traveller, saying: "I think there are in it some of the best things I have ever written". He was therefore disappointed by the book's generally poor critical reception.^[1] Critic John Neal was severe in his critique,^[2] saying in American Writers: "We hardly know how to speak of this sad affair.... No wonder that people have begun to question his originality".^[3] By the early 20th century, critics generally ranked it lower than The Sketch Book.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Book: Cairns, William B. . British Criticisms of American Writings 1815–1833: A Contribution to the Study of Anglo-American Literary Relationships . University of Wisconsin . Madison, Wisconsin . University of Wisconsin Studies in Language and Literature Number 14 . 1922 . 1833885 . 50.
2. Book: Cairns, William B. . British Criticisms of American Writings 1815–1833: A Contribution to the Study of Anglo-American Literary Relationships . University of Wisconsin . Madison, Wisconsin . University of Wisconsin Studies in Language and Literature Number 14 . 1922 . 1833885 . 86.
3. Book: Neal, John . Pattee . Fred Lewis . Fred Lewis Pattee . . Duke University Press . Durham, North Carolina . 1937 . 464953146 . John Neal (writer) . 138–139.
4. Book: Cairns, William B. . British Criticisms of American Writings 1815–1833: A Contribution to the Study of Anglo-American Literary Relationships . University of Wisconsin . Madison, Wisconsin . University of Wisconsin Studies in Language and Literature Number 14 . 1922 . 1833885 . 50.