Washington Irving

Richard Rust (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.2: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth Century, 1783-1900.
Vol. editors: Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University)

Dates

Born 3 Apr 1783
Died 28 Nov 1859
Activity 1802-1859

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Genres and Modes

Sketch

Activities

Primary

Autobiographer
Biographer
Story-writer
Travel writer

Other

Essayist
Historian / Chronicler
Journalist
Lawyer/ Barrister/ Solicitor
Letter-writer/ Diarist
Satirist
Soldier

Resources

Sketch by Daniel Maclise, c.1830s. Courtesy The Walter Scott Digital Archive, Edinburgh University Library.

Washington Irving is considered by some today to be old-fashioned, a fate he anticipated in his Sketch Book essays, “Westminster Abbey” and “The Mutability of Literature”. Yet Irving believed that imagination of a Shakespearean quality defies mutability – which may well apply to Irving's best work. His story of Rip Van Winkle continues to be appreciated by many, and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” has been made into movies, a musical, and a drama, and has a …

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1978 words

Citation: Rust, Richard. "Washington Irving". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 February 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2315, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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