Oliver Goldsmith;: A biography

by Washington Irving

1849. Washington Irving was the first American literary artist to earn his living solely through his writings and is considered to be the Father of the American Short Story. Irving wrote this biographical sketch of the poet Goldsmith from his estate, Sunnyside, near Tarrytown, N.Y. See other Irving titles available from Kessinger Publishing.

Genres: Biography, History, Classics

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1849

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

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 3/4 stars

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up an old Washington Irving book at a used book sale and this was one of the books in it. It is a biography of the english author oliver Goldsmith a sad life and he didn't profit from his work but it was interesting to read.