Rip Van Winkle
Rip Van Winkle, first published in 1819 in The Sketch Book, is Washington Irving's tale of an easygoing Dutch villager in the Catskill Mountains who wanders into the hills to escape his wife, drinks with a party of silent strangers playing at ninepins and falls asleep for twenty years. He comes down to find his beard a foot long, his wife dead, his village changed and the portrait of King George replaced by one of George Washington; the Revolution has happened without him. Irving borrowed the plot from a German legend, set it among the Hudson Valley Dutch he loved to write about and presented it as a paper found among the effects of the historian Diedrich Knickerbocker. The full text is available to read online in your browser on Vinteuil, and the first chapter is free.
Start reading right away, without signing up. The complete text is included in Vinteuil Reading, or yours forever with a one-time purchase.
Frequently asked questions about Rip Van Winkle
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving can be read online on Vinteuil, directly in your browser. The first chapter is free for everyone; the complete book is included in Vinteuil Reading ($4.99/month or $39.99/year) or yours forever for $2.99.
Can I read Rip Van Winkle online?
Yes. Rip Van Winkle opens right on this page, in a reader designed for long reading: adjustable text size, light, sepia and dark themes, a clickable table of contents and your place saved when you are signed in. No download or app is needed.
Is Rip Van Winkle free to read on Vinteuil?
The first chapter of Rip Van Winkle is free, without an account. To read the whole book, either buy its online reading for $2.99 (£2.99 in the UK) and keep it forever, or subscribe to Vinteuil Reading for $4.99/month (£4.99/month in the UK) or $39.99/year, with 1 month free for new subscribers. The subscription opens every book in the library and can be cancelled at any time.
Is Rip Van Winkle in the public domain?
Yes. Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving is a public-domain work. Vinteuil offers a carefully prepared digital edition made for comfortable reading on screen.
How long does it take to read Rip Van Winkle?
About 32 min of reading, at an average reading pace. Your place is saved automatically when you are signed in, so you can read in several sittings and on several devices.
What kind of book is Rip Van Winkle?
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving is filed under "Science Fiction & Fantasy" in the Vinteuil library.
