![]() ![]() During this stay in Europe he was a member of the American Legation to England but in his spare time he traveled to the continent and widely read Dutch and German folk tales. ![]() In 18 he published The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, which includes his best known stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip van Winkle. While in Europe, Irving dabbled in the theater, even serving as manager of the famed Globe Theatre for a period of time. He was a prolific essayist who wrote widely respected biographies of George Washington, the prophet Muhammad, and others, and he wrote a number of books on fifteenth-century Spain on subjects such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors, and the Alhambra. 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. A lawyer, he was a member of the American diplomatic staff in Britain and in Spain. When he was 32 years old, Irving traveled to Europe. His first book was A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, by Diedrich Knickerbocker (1809), a sly satire on self-important local history that brought “Knickerbocker” into the American lexicon, and then wider English usage. ![]() Irving’s parents were William Irving of Shapinsay, in the Orkneys, a petty officer in the Royal Navy, and Sarah née Sanders. Irving’s famous home Sunnyside in Tarrytown, New York. ![]()
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