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The Wife

Washington Irving

First published June 1819
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

"Behind every happy man, there stands a loving, super-strong little wife who will sink or swim with him and who will bear with him whatever great troubles he might have. A husband makes some bad speculations and is plunged into poverty. His friend urges him to tell his wife so she can support him, but he is afraid to. When, at last, he does tell her, she is transformed into a ravishing beauty who helps keep their newly purchased humble cottage like a castle, and sharing strawberries and cream in the back yard." (RayS)

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
June 1819 The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.: No. I C. S. Van Winkle Collection 39
1820 The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Collection
1964 Cover The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories Airmont Books Collection 82
1967 Cover Rip Van Winkle; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories The Easton Press Collection 23
June 1980 Cover The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories Airmont Books Collection 82
January 2000 The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Project Gutenberg Collection |4
June 2012 Cover The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories Dover Publications Collection |6