Résumé
Résumé de Le carnet de croquis de Geoffrey Crayon
Go deeper: the whole of Le carnet de croquis de Geoffrey Crayon
About 8 h 40 min to read.À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
For readers who love travel writing, ghost stories and old England. It suits anyone who enjoys a wandering narrator with a warm sense of humour, village scenes, Christmas customs and the early voice of American fiction.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Imagine stepping off a ship onto the shore of your forefathers and finding nobody there to greet you. The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon follows a wandering sketcher who gathers whatever catches his eye, like a painter who draws cottages and corners and skips the famous ruins. Some pieces are quiet and thoughtful, such as a walk through Westminster Abbey. Others are comic, such as a Christmas house party. Two tales set on the Hudson River gave American writing some of its best known figures.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A Stranger Crosses the Sea to EnglandFree
- 2Quiet Lives Prove Courage and Loyalty
- 3Rip Van Winkle and the Silent Bowlers
- 4England Seen Through Its Churches and Roads
- 5A Library, a Tavern and a Royal Poet
- 6The Spectre Bridegroom and the Inn Kitchen
- 7Christmas at the Squire's Old Hall
- 8Old London, Stratford and a Native American King
- 9Sleepy Hollow and the Rider Without a Head
Point clé 1 sur 9
A Stranger Crosses the Sea to England
The narrator explains himself first. He loved travel from childhood and sees himself as a sketcher who draws what pleases him, not what a serious tourist should. Europe calls to him with its history, its ruins and its great men.
The voyage cuts him off from home like a turned page. He watches clouds from the deck, and one day the ship passes a drifting mast, the last mark of some lost crew.
On the pier at Liverpool, families meet. A young wife searches the ship for her husband and does not know him, because illness has worn him so thin. The narrator alone stands unmet on the land of his forefathers. That scene sets the tone, gentle, watchful and a little lonely.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Go deeper: the whole of Le carnet de croquis de Geoffrey Crayon
About 8 h 40 min to read.Who’s who
- Geoffrey Crayon
- An American traveller and observer, he introduces the collection and describes the people and customs he encounters.
- Rip Van Winkle
- An easygoing Hudson Valley villager, he enjoys his neighbours’ company but avoids the household duties his wife demands.
- Ichabod Crane
- A superstitious schoolmaster in Sleepy Hollow, he courts Katrina Van Tassel and competes with the confident Brom Bones.
- Katrina Van Tassel
- A prosperous farmer’s daughter, she attracts the attentions of both Ichabod Crane and his rival Brom Bones.
- Brom Bones
- A boisterous local horseman, he is Ichabod Crane’s rival for the attention of Katrina Van Tassel.
- Dame Van Winkle
- Rip Van Winkle’s wife, she reproaches her husband for neglecting his work and responsibilities at home.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 130,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 8 h 40 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about Le carnet de croquis de Geoffrey Crayon
What is The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon about?
It is a collection of essays, sketches and tales by Washington Irving. The narrator, Geoffrey Crayon, travels in England and describes churches, inns, Christmas customs and writers, and includes the stories of Rip Van Winkle and Sleepy Hollow.
Who is Geoffrey Crayon?
He presents himself as an idle sketcher who records what pleases him, much as a painter fills a sketchbook with corners and cottages.
Are Rip Van Winkle and Sleepy Hollow in this book?
Yes. Both tales appear here. Rip Van Winkle is a gentle villager who wanders into the Kaatskill Mountains, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman.
Is it easy to read today?
Irving writes in a warm, friendly voice, and most pieces are short and self-contained. You can read the tales and essays in any order, and the humour and the vivid scenes keep the pages moving.
What is the main message of the book?
Irving values kindness, old customs and the stories that bind communities together. He shows that quiet lives deserve notice, that humour and sorrow sit side by side, and that places gain meaning from the people and legends attached to them.