Having seen the movie, one I've seen over and over again, I wanted to read the story it was based upon. I'm quite disappointed in it. Apart from being excessively wordy, I was surprised it was more about Ichabod's and Brom's courtship of the flirtatious, thoughtless airhead that was Katrina Van Tassel. Ichabod's pursuit of her appeared purely shallow, admiring her beauty and salivating at the prospect of inheriting her father's money. The competition between the two men led to the creation of the legend of the Hessian Headless Horseman by Brom and the pumpkin scene which appears in both book and movie which successfully scares off Ichabod, the local schoolteacher, who disappears and later resurfaces as a lawyer in another part of the country. Brom wins Katrina and smiles whenever Ichabod's name is mentioned. The End. I disliked these characters and the only part of the writing I enjoyed was the gothic description of Sleepy Hollow itself and it's influence on the minds of its inhabitants. I'll be sticking with Tim Burton's movie. It truly took the best parts of story and made it dark and creepy, as well as making Ichabod funny and loveable, Katrina innocent and virtuous and Brom less of an asshole.
