Washington Irving

Richard Rust (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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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 website dedicated to it. There continues to be an audience, too, for the rest of

The Sketch Book

, Knickerbocker's

History of New York

,

The Alhambra

, and

Life of George Washindgton

. Other works such as

Tales of a

1978 words

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

2315 Washington Irving 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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