Washington Irving

Washington Irving (1783-1859), was known as the "First American Man of Letters." Irving had an indulgent childhood as the youngest of eleven children. Although he practiced law intermittently and helped his brothers with their business, he spent most his time traveling. Irving was out the country for 17 years in one stretch, and used the time to write shortstories and essays. He loved parties and dinners and published work simultaneously in America and England.

Traveling in England, he met Sir Walter Scott who encouraged him to publish a collection of his work. Irving collected his early work as the "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent" (1819-1820) under the pseudonym of Crayon. This collection of essays and short stories was both whimsical and satirical and included the famous "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle."

Many of Irving's short stories are Americanized versions of German folk tales. He became famous for the wit and generosity of spirit in his characters and was one of the earliest fiction writers to use uniquely American settings and characters. Much of Irving's later work is set in Spain, where he resided for many years. "Bracebridge Hall" (1822), "Alhambra" (1832), "Tales of a Traveler" (1824), and "Astoria" (1836) were all successful

He was born in New York City.

A lawyer, he served as American ambassador to Britain and later to Spain. He spoke Spanish. He was a prolific essayist who wrote widely respected biographies of George Washington and Muhammad as well as other historical figures. He also wrote books on 15th Century Spain dealing with subjects such as Columbus, the Moors, and the Alhambra.

Irving traveled on the Western frontier in the 1830s and was one of the few 19th Century figures to speak out against the mishandling of relations with the Native American tribes by Europeans.

He is said to have mentored authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allan Poe.

In 1819-1820 he published The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, which included his best known stories:

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• Rip van Winkle

Rip Van Winkle is a man who sleeps for a hundred years and wakes in a world he cannot recognize. The story was written overnight, while staying with his sister, her husband, Henry van Wart, and their two sons and two daughters, one of whom was his god- child, in Birmingham, England - a place which also inspired some of his other works. Bracebridge Hall, or, The Humorists, A Medley is based on Aston Hall, there.

One of the van Wart's children would later name his first- born Washington Irving Van Wart (b. 1836), whose niece in turn was called Rosalinda Irving Van Wart (b. 1874).

It is believed that the city of Irving, Texas was named after him, as are Washington Street and Irving Street in Birmingham.

The name "Rip van Winkle" has gone into the language to describe people who awake and cannot recognize their surroundings.

Washington Irving's grave, in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery of Sleepy Hollow, New York. It's the one with the flag in front of it.

Biography

• The Life of Washington Irving, by Stanley T. Williams, 1935.

External links

• Washington Irving biography at IrvingTexas.com
• Project Gutenberg e-texts of some of Washington Irving's works
• Internet Movie Database entry
• Washington Irving in Birmingham

Referenced By