1. Washington Irving
(1783-1859)
America‟s First Professional Writer

2. The European Attitude
“In the four corners of the
globe, who reads an
American book?”
Sydney Smith
Edinburgh Review
1820

3. Washington Irving
• Just a few months before
Smith‟s question, an American
writer named Washington Irving
began publishing a series of
essays and tales called The
Sketch Book.
• The Sketch Book made
Washington Irving the first
American writer to achieve
international fame

4. Irving‟s Early Life
• Born in New York City in April
1783, one of the first
generations of new Americans
• Attended school in NY until he
was nearly 15 years old.
• Later went to work in a law
office to study law.
• Irving became interested in
writing as a teenager, and his
first published works appeared
in 1802 and 1803.

5. Irving‟s Early Life
• These early works were in the form
of letters to the Morning
Chronicle, a New York City
newspaper edited by his brother
Peter.
– The letters ridiculed New York
society, and they made Irving known
among New Yorkers.
• In 1807 and 1808, he helped his
brother write satirical essays for his
magazine, Salmagundi.
• Irving became a lawyer, but
abandoned his law practice in
1809

6. Irving‟s Early Life
• In 1809, Irving‟s finance died
• He wrote in a private letter to a
friend "For years I could not talk
on the subject of this hopeless
regret; I could not even mention
her name; but her image was
continually before me, and I
dreamt of her incessantly."

7. A History of New York
• His first book, A History of New York
from the Beginning of the World to
the End of the Dutch Dynasty, was
written under the alias name of
Diedrich Knickerbocker, an alleged
eccentric historian in NY.
• This book was a parody of another
popular history of the day, and was.
launched via a brilliant publicity
campaign.

8. A History of New York
• First, a newspaper noted the
disappearance of a
– “small, elderly gentleman, dressed in an
old black coat and cocked hat, by the
name of “Knickerbocker,” adding that
there were “some reasons for believing he
is not entirely in his right mind.”
• After further “news” items, the old
man‟s fictitious landlord announced
that he had found in Knickerbocker‟s
room a “very curious kind of written
book” which he intended to publish
in order to pay the past rent owed
– The book was then published as though it
were written by Diedrich Knickerbocker.

9. A History of New York
• Knickerbocker‟s History of New
York, is a satirical account of the
state during its colonial past and in
Irving‟s day.
• Many prominent New York families
were offended by the history
because it ridiculed their ancestors.
• The book was a major comic triumph
and marked Irving‟s future writing:
Designed solely for entertainment
Taught no serious moral lessons

10. A History of New York
• With the publication of The History
of New York, Irving became a
celebrity
• Soon the word „Knickerbocker'
was used to describe the early
American writers, and eventually
the word was used to mean a
person from New York.
– This is where the New York basketball
team got its name, The New York
Knickerbockers (Knicks).

11. The Sketch Book
• While working on this book, Irving
met the famous English writer Sir
Walter Scott, who directed Irving‟s
attention to the wealth of unused
literary material in German
folktales.
• There Irving found the source for
“Rip Van Winkle.”
• For this book, Irving adopted the
new pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon.
• The book included “Rip Van
Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow.”

12. Irving‟s Contributions to the
Short Story Form
• Source: F.L. Pattee‟s essay on Irving in
Development of American Short Story
1. He made short fiction popular
– After the sensational triumph of The Sketch
Book, sketches and tales became the
literary fashion in America
– These were so popular and there were so
many, that publishers needed new venues
for them
– The various popular magazines that sprang
up in the 1830‟s and 1840‟s were indirectly
the fruit of Irving‟s success as a sketch
writer.

13. Irving‟s Contributions to the
Short Story Form
2. He was the first prominent writer to strip
the prose tale of its moral and didactic
elements and to make of it a literary form
solely for entertainment.
– “I have preferred addressing myself to
the feeling and fancy of the reader
more than to his judgment . . . . My
writings, therefore, may appear light
and trifling to our country of
philosophers and politicians.”

14. Irving‟s Contributions to the
Short Story Form
3. He added to the short tale richness of
atmosphere and unity of tone.
4. He added definite locality, actual
American scenery and people.
– He was a pioneer in that new school
which demanded an American
literature, an art that would work in
native materials in an original manner.

15. Irving‟s Contributions to the
Short Story Form
5. He was the first foction writer to realize that
the shorter form of narrative could be
made something new and different, but
that to do it required a peculiar nicety of
execution and patient workmanship.
– “. . . In these shorter writings every
page must have merit . . . . Woe to
[the author] if he makes an awkward
sentence or writes a stupid page; the
critics are sure to pounce upon it.”

16. Irving‟s Contributions to the
Short Story Form
6. He added humor to the short story and
lightness of touch, and made it human
and appealing.
7. He was original
– He constantly avoided, as he
expressed it, the “commonplace of
the day.”
8. His characters are always definite
individuals and not types or symbols.
9. He endowed the short story with a
distinctive and beautiful style.

17. The Other Side of Irving
• Many literary critics say Irving was a
detriment to the development of the
short story.
• So far as modern technique is
concerned, Irving retarded its growth
for a generation.
– He became from the first a model to be
followed by all.
– His writing is the origin sentimentalism and
unrestrained romance that occupied
popular magazines for three decades.
• Edgar Allan Poe was powerless in the
1830‟s and 1840‟s in his attempts to
change the technique of the form.

18. Irving‟s Writing Style
• Little traditional form in his
writing
– Pieces are
rambling, characters are
sketched as he goes
– Little exciting dialog
– Movement isn‟t interrupted
by long descriptions
– Several collisions/contrasts
– Swift culmination of events
and characters

19. Irving‟s Writing Style
• Plot was not essential
– “Rip Van Winkle” has six pages of
material before there is any movement.
– “For my part, I consider a story merely
as a frame on which to stretch my
materials.”
– Of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” he
said, “The story is a mere whimsical
band to connect descriptions of
scenery, customs, manners, etc.”

20. Irving‟s Writing Style
• Irving never attempted anything
serious
– Irving finally wrote history; he was not
interested in saying anything unique
about the human condition.

21. Irving‟s Literary Influence
• Irving introduced to American literature
the form that has become its most
distinctive literary product, the short
story.
• As schoolboys, Hawthorne and
Longfellow were inspired by the success
of The Sketch Book.
• Irving was generous to younger writers all
his life
• The southwestern humorists of the 1840‟s
learned from him that realistic details of
rural life in America could be worked
memorably into fiction.