Cover of Rip Van Winkle

Rip Van Winkle

by Washington Irving

First published
1850
Reading level
Plain English
Price
Free

About the book

"Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving is a short story published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager who encounters mysterious strangers in the Catskill Mountains, drinks their liquor, and falls into a deep sleep. When he awakens, twenty years have passed and everything has changed—his village is transformed, his friends are gone, and he has slept through the American Revolution. Now an elderly stranger in his own home, Rip must navigate a world he no longer recognizes and reconcile with the life that continued without him.

  • Fantasy fiction
  • New York (State)
  • Catskill Mountains Region (N.Y.)
  • Van Winkle, Rip (Fictitious character)
  • Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.)

Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #60976. Rip Van Winkle on Wikipedia.

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