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WASHINGTON IRVING
Washington Irving was an American author. A pioneer of his time, Washington Irving was a great American author. Washington
Irving was born in New York on April 3, 1783. His father immigrated from the extreme north of Scotland, his mother from the
extreme south of England. He was a well off merchant and his mother was the granddaughter of a clergyman. Irving was named
after General George Washington, whom his parents admired.
Irving studied law from around 1798 to 1802 (Reuben 5.) But only practiced for a short period. As young man he experienced
some health problems, so he was sent to Europe. His family hoped Irving’s trip would help him get well. Although he studied
law, Irving had other various interests, as shown in the following quote. “Irving had many interests including writing, architecture
and landscape design, traveling, and diplomacy” (Resources for Educators 1.)
From 1804 to 1806 he served in several law offices and traveled in Europe. Young Washington settled down to a professional
career. As shown in the following quote that lists the offices where he studied. “He studied law privately in the offices
of Henry Masteron, Brockholst Livingston, and John Ogde Hoffman, but practiced only briefly” (Liukkonen 1.) Irving read more
about literature than legal practice. He enjoyed visiting different places and a large part of his life was spent in Europe,
particularly England, France, Germany, and Spain. He traveled widely in Europe. He visited Marseilees, Genoa, and Sicily.
Irving was admitted to bar in 1806.
After Irving became a lawyer, he began to work with his brothers in New York and England. In 1815, “he was a partner with
his brothers in the family hardware business, in New York and Liverpool, England, and was a representative of the business
in England until it collapsed in 1818” (Liukkonen 1.)
From 1819 to 1820, using the pen name of Geoffrey Crayon, Irving wrote the essays and short stories found in ‘The Sketch Book
of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent’ (Encarta 1.) This contained Irving’s two most famous stories, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow.” He often wrote about the places he visited. Although he traveled a lot, Irving often used his memories
of New York State. The fictional Sleepy Hollow is actually the lower Hudson Valley area near Tarrytown, N.Y., and Rip Van
Winkle sleeps through the entire Revolutionary War in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York.
From 1826 until 1829 Irving was a member of the staff of the United States legation in Madrid, and wrote several historical
works. The most popular was the “History of Christopher Columbus” (Encarta 1.) Which was written in 1828.
In 1832, after being away for seventeen years, Washington returned from Europe to New York (Encarta 2.) He made his home
in Tarrytown. Irving never married or had children. During the next twenty-five years his brother Ebenezer and Ebenezer’s
five daughters lived with Irving at his home. Washington Irving spent the rest of his life in Tarrytown. On the night before
the Civil War, November 28, 1859, he died at his home surrounded by his family. Just before going to bed that night, he said:
“Well, I must arrange my pillows for another weary night!” (Liukkonen 2.) Irving died in his sleep, at the age of seventy-six,
and was buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
Washington Irving is best known for his short stories “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle.” Although these
were his two most famous stories, Irving also helped create the short story in American literature. During his time, Irving
was the first in American literature to write for pleasure at a time when writing was practical, and for useful purposes.
As shown in the following quote, Irving was the first to write comedy. “He is the first American literary humorist,” and
wrote the first modern short stories (Reuben 2.)
WORKS CITED:
"Irving, Washington." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2001.
http://encarta.msn.com. 1997-2000. Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
February 19, 2002.
Liukkonen, Petri. “Washington Irving.” 2000. Books and writers. http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/wirving.htm March 15,
2002.
Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 3: Early Nineteenth Century - Washington Irving."
Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide.
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/irving.html February
19, 2002.
“Resources for Educators: About Washington Irving.” 1999. Megabyte Consulting. http://www.hudsonvalley.org/education/Background/abt_irving/abt_irving.html
February 19, 2002.
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