Irving, Washington

Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories “Rip Van Winkle” (1819) and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1820), both of which appear in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of Oliver Goldsmith, Muhammad and George Washington, as well as several histories of 15th-century Spain that deal with subjects such as Alhambra, Christopher Columbus and the Moors.

Irving served as ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. He made his literary debut in 1802 with a series of observational letters to the Morning Chronicle, written under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle. He moved to England for the family business in 1815 where he achieved fame with the publication of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., serialized from 1819–20. He continued to publish regularly throughout his life, and he completed a five-volume biography of George Washington just eight months before his death at age 76 in Tarrytown, New York.

Irving was one of the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe, and he encouraged other American authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Herman Melville and Edgar Allan Poe. He was also admired by some British writers, including Lord Byron, Thomas Campbell, Charles Dickens, Francis Jeffrey and Walter Scott. He advocated for writing as a legitimate profession and argued for stronger laws to protect American writers from copyright infringement.

Irvining’s Classics

THE ALHAMBRA

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE ANGLER

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE ART OF BOOK-MAKING

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE AUTHOR’S ACCOUNT OF HIMSELF

THE SKETCH BOOK:THE BOAR’S HEAD TAVERN, EASTCHEAP

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE BROKEN HEART

THE SKETCH BOOK: CHRISTMAS

THE SKETCH BOOK: CHRISTMAS DAY

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE CHRISTMAS DINNER

THE SKETCH BOOK: CHRISTMAS EVE

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE COUNTRY CHURCH

THE SKETCH BOOK: ENGLISH WRITERS ON AMERICA

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE INN KITCHEN

THE SKETCH BOOK: JOHN BULL

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW

THE SKETCH BOOK: LITTLE BRITAIN

THE SKETCH BOOK: L’ENVOY *

THE SKETCH BOOK: LONDON ANTIQUES

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE MUTABILITY OF LITERATURE

THE SKETCH BOOK: PHILIP OF POKANOKET

THE SKETCH BOOK: RIP VAN WINKLE

THE SKETCH BOOK: ROSCOE

THE SKETCH BOOK: A ROYAL POET

THE SKETCH BOOK: RURAL FUNERALS

THE SKETCH BOOK: RURAL LIFE IN ENGLAND

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM

THE SKETCH BOOK: STRATFORD-ON-AVON

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE STAGE COACH

THE SKETCH BOOK: A SUNDAY IN LONDON*

THE SKETCH BOOK: TRAITS OF INDIAN CHARACTER

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE VOYAGE

THE SKETCH BOOK: WESTMINSTER ABBEY

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE WIDOW AND HER SON

THE SKETCH BOOK: THE WIFE