Washington Irving became a famous author, best known for his humorous and satirical stories. He pioneered the establishment of short-story writing in American literature, and wrote history and biography in later years.
Early Life of Washington Irving
Washington Irving was born on April 3, 1783, in New York City, son of a wealthy merchant. He studied law privately but did not pursue it as a career although he practiced it briefly. He began his career writing satirical essays for newspapers, especially in the Salmagundi Papers in 1807.
Washington Irving's Writing Career
Irving's print debut, however, was in 1802 when he published a collection of nine observational letters, The Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent. He used the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle.
The letters first appeared in the November 15 edition of the New York Morning Chronicle, a political-leaning newspaper of the time. The letters contained lampoon of the early 19th century New York society and culture.
When he was 26, Washington Irving published A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. He used the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, who was supposed to be an eccentric Dutch-American scholar. The book was a social satire, a comic account of the early years of Dutch settlement in Manhattan, and it became part of New York folklore.
A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty gained Irving wide acclaim. And eventually, the word "knickerbocker" was used to describe any New Yorker who could trace his/her family to the original Dutch settlers.
In 1815, at the age of 32, Irving went to England where he lived for many years.
Author Washington Irving's The Sketch Book
When he was 37, he published his most successful book, The Sketch Book. It is a collection of essays and sketches on English folk customs, Native Americans, and legends from his childhood in New York State.
The book contains two of his most famous stories: "Rip Van Winkle," about a man who falls asleep for 20 years, and "Legend of Sleepy Hollow," in which the schoolmaster named Ichabod Crane meets with a headless horseman.
Legacy of Washington Irving
With the success of The Sketch Book, Irving became a professional writer; he returned to New York in 1832 a literary hero.
Washington Irving died at the age of 76, November 28, 1859. Throughout the United States, there are many schools, hotels, and places taken in his fictional books.
Books by Washington Irving
- A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, 1809
- The Sketch Book, 1819-1820
- Bracebridge Hall, 1822
- Tales of a Traveller, 1824
- History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, 1828
- Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus, 1831
- The Crayon Miscellany, 1835
- The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, 1837
- Biography and Poetical Remains of the Late Margaret Miller Davidson, 1841
- George Washington (5 volumes), 1855-1859
Sources:
- Clark, John, Ed. Illustrated Biographical Dictionary. London: Chancellor Press, 1978.
- Goring, Rosemary, Ed. Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994.
- McGovern, Una, Ed. Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers / Harrap Publishers, 2002.
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