A History of New York, Irving's 1809 novel, humorously and inaccurately depicts the Dutchman Diedrich Knickerbocker's account of New York's settlement by the Dutch.

The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent is a collection of 32 short stories, many focusing on England. This anthology includes two of Irving's most famous works: "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Moby Dick, Herman Melville's 1851 epic, narrates Captain Ahab's obsessive quest to hunt the great white whale, Moby Dick. Ahab's relentless pursuit blinds him to the fact that his own greed and deceit are leading to his downfall.

The Pardoner's Tale, a story by Geoffrey Chaucer, delves into "the curse of avarice and cupidity." Three thieves plot to become rich through deceit, but each tries to betray the others for the gold. Ultimately, their greed destroys them all. This tale inspired the movie, Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

"Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1835, is an allegorical story about a devout Puritan man in New England who discovers his fellow townspeople participating in a satanic ritual. Hawthorne, a contemporary of Irving, aimed to establish an American literature that reflected New England Puritan values.

"The Devil and Daniel Webster," a short story by Steven Vincent Benet first published in 1937, is a New England folktale that won an O. Henry Memorial Award. It tells of a poor farmer who makes a pact with the devil, who appears as a lawyer. Seeking to escape the deal after gaining prosperity, the farmer enlists Daniel Webster to defend him in a trial overseen by Nathaniel Hawthorne.