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Washington Irving's career as a writer began obscurely at age seventeen, when his brother's newspaper published his series of comic reports on the theater, theater-goers, fashions, balls, courtships, duels, and marriages of his contemporary New York, called Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent . Written in the persona of an elderly gentleman of the old school, these letters captured his fellow townsmen at play in their most incongruous attitudes of simple sophistication. Irving's next work, Salmagundi , written in collaboration with his brother William and James Kirke Paulding, and published at irregular intervals in 1805-06, continued this roguish style of satire and burlesque. A History of New York , publicized by an elaborate hoax in the local newspapers concerning the disappearance of the elderly "Diedrich Knickerbocker," turned out to be a wild and hilarious spoof that combined real New York history with political satire. Quickly reprinted in England, it was admired by Walter Scott and Charles Dickens (who carried his copy in his pocket). In later years, as Irving revised and re-revised his History, he softened his gibes at Thomas Jefferson, the Dutch, and the Yankees of New England; this Library of America volume presents the work in its original, exuberant, robust, and unexpurgated form, giving modern readers a chance to enjoy the version that brought him immediate international acclaim. The Sketch Book contains Irving's two best-loved stories, "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." It also includes many sketches of English country and city life, as well as nostalgic portraits of vanishing traditions, like the old celebrations of Christmas. A writer of great urbanity and poise, acutely sensitive to the nostalgia of a passing age, Washington Irving was a central figure in America's emergence on the international scene. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

Product Identifiers

PublisherLibrary of America, T.H.E.

ISBN-100940450143

ISBN-139780940450141

eBay Product ID (ePID)610495

Product Key Features

LanguageEnglish

TopicClassics, Short Stories (Single Author), Satire, Literary, Fiction

AuthorWashington. Irving

Dimensions

Item Length8.2in

Item Height1.4in

Item Width5.2in

Item Weight25.8 Oz

Additional Product Features

Book TitleWashington Irving : History, Tales and Sketches (Loa #16)

Series Volume Number1

Lccn83-005474

Intended AudienceTrade

Lc Classification NumberPs2052 1983

Publication Year1983

SeriesLibrary of America Washington Irving Edition Ser.

Reviews"The Library of America has published a volume of Washington Irving, and though I never intended to read it, I did glance through, and discovered the story of Rip Van Winkle. Rip sits down for a drink, and lo, next thing he knows, 20 years have passed. Just so with a reviewer who sits down for a glance at Washington Irving. One glance leads to several. Chapters slip past, then whole books (four of them appear in this volume), and finally the reviewer limps back to town, beard grown, hair wild, mumbling a crazily antiquated piece of news: Washington Irving is wonderful." -- Voice Literary Supplement

FormatHardcover

Grade fromTwelfth Grade

Number of Pages1144 Pages