Selected Writings of Washington Irving

by Washington Irving

Collection of works by Washington Irving.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction

663 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1945

About the author

People remember American writer Washington Irving for the stories " Rip Van Winkle " and " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ," contained in The Sketch Book (1820).

This author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century wrote newspaper articles under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle to begin his literary career at the age of nineteen years.

In 1809, he published The History of New York under his most popular public persona, Diedrich Knickerbocker.

Historical works of Irving include a five volume biography of George Washington (after whom he was named) as well as biographies of Oliver Goldsmith, Muhammad, and several histories, dealing with subjects, such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors, and the Alhambra, of 15th-century Spain. John Tyler, president, appointed Irving to serve as the first Spanish speaking United States minister to Spain from 1842 to 1846.

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hb, Modern Library ed 1945, Good condition.. Read over winter break of sophomore year while staying at 14th & "C"

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked reading again familiar stories such as Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, and encountering for the first time Irving's short stories of Moorish Spain and the English countryside. But it was a very big book with very small print, so my interest inevitably waned. A broader note on short story collections: I like them, but the starting-and-stopping of plots also inevitably wears me out, like a literary traffic jam so to speak. And, Irving uses lots, and lots, of commas, which can be, distracting.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED the stories about the Hudson River - Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle, etc. Also nice to read some of the less-known stories (Wolfert's Roost for ex.) from my town's namesake!