Washington Irving

Washington Irving

Washington Irving (1783-1859) was born into a rich New York family, the youngest of eleven children. He was named after the future American President, George Washington. Young Washington's early education was patchy but he developed an early love for books and writing. As an adult he didn't have to worry about earning a living and after practicing law for a few years he began to write for newspapers and magazines. His first book, Knickerbocker's History of New York (1809), was the first American humorous book that was also literature. It was a great success but Irving continued to be only a part-time writer.

In 1815 he moved to London to manage the British end of the family business and stayed there for seventeen years. He was a member of the American diplomatic staff in Britain and also in Spain. He spoke fluent Spanish, which served him well in his writings on that country, and he could read several other languages, including German and Dutch. When the family business collapsed in 1817, he had to make a living for the first time. The immediate result was The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, which contained his two most famous fantasy stories: Rip van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. These classic stories have kept Washington Irving's name alive. He and James Fenimore Cooper were the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe, and Irving is said to have mentored authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allan Poe. He is often called "the father of American literature" because of the charm and style of his writing and because he was always breaking new ground.

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27 Items found
Adventures of Captain Bonneville
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Robert Reynolds
Klickitat from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Astoria
by Washington Irving
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Bold Dragoon
by Washington Irving, illustrated by James Daugherty
1960 printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Diedrich Knickerbocker's A History of New York
by Washington Irving, illustrated by F.O.C. Darley, introduction by Andrew B. Myers
Facsimile, First Printing from Sleepy Hollow Press
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Diedrich Knickerbocker's History of New-York
by Washington Irving
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Jack Tinker
from Sealantic Fund, Inc.
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.40 (1 in stock)
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
by Washington Irving
from Philomel Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Books of Wonder
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from HarperCollins
for 5th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 5th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Washington Irving
from Reader's Digest
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.40 (2 in stock)
Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Washington Irving
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Complete Numbers Starting with 1, 1st Ed from Sterling Publishing Co.
Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle
Dover Children's Thrift Classics
by Washington Irving
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
$3.40
Once Upon a Time
by Arthur Rackham, edited by Margery Darrell
from Viking Press
for 2nd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Rip Van Winkle
by Washington Irving, illustrated by John Howe
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Rip Van Winkle
by Washington Irving
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Rip Van Winkle
Books of Wonder
by Washington Irving, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
from William Morrow & Company
for 5th-9th grade
Rip Van Winkle
Calla Editions
by Washington Irving, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
Rip Van Winkle & The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Macmillan Classics
by Washington Irving, illustrated by David Levine
from Macmillan
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Rip Van Winkle - Coloring Book
by A. Rackham, P. Stewart, W. Irving
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Literary & Fantasy Coloring Books (Location: COL-LIT)
$4.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Rip Van Winkle and Other Stories
Puffin Classics
by Washington Irving
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$6.79
Rip Van Winkle and Other Stories
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Susanne Suba
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Sketch Book
by Washington Irving, illustrated by James G. Teason
from Fountain Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Tales of the Alhambra
by Washington Irving
from Living Book Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.89
Tales of the Alhambra
by Washington Irving
3rd edition from Club Everest
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Three Western Narratives
by Washington Irving
from Library of America
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Toby Tyler / Rip Van Winkle and Other Stories
by James Otis, Washington Irving
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)