Washington Irving

Washington Irving. . , Called "the first American man of letters," Washington Irving (1783-1859) found fame and success as a writer of short fiction in the early years of the republic. Mixing fact, legend and folklore, his whimsical tales captured the cultural character of Dutch New York, and his travels up the Hudson River inspired his most celebrated writings: Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow., A Young Author in Kinderhook , Born in New York City, Washington Irving trained as a lawyer but found himself drawn to a life of creativity and adventure. He first traveled to Upstate New York in 1790, a trip that awakened his long fascination with Dutch culture In 1809, Irving paid an extended visit to Kinderhook to recuperate after the death of his fiancée. Lodging with a family friend at the mansion that would later be known as Lindenwald, Irving explored the bucolic countryside and made observations of the local Dutch culture that would help him complete his first major literary work: A History of New York From the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty by Diedrich Knickerbocker (1809)., Hudson Valley Tales , Irving moved to England in 1815 and continued to hone his craft, studying with many prominent poets and authors of the day. Wistfully recalling his experiences in the Dutch villages of the Hudson Valley, he wrote the two stories that sealed his legacy as one of America's finest writers: Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, both published in 1819. He returned to New York in 1832, living out the remainder of his days at his Tarrytown estate, Sunnyside, "But of all the scenery of the Hudson, the Kaatskill Mountains had the most witching effect on my boyish imagination. Never shall I forget the effect upon me of the first view of them predominating over a wide extent of country, part wild, woody, and rugged; part softened away into all the graces of cultivation." - Washington Irving, Fact or Fiction? , The Luykas Van Alen House is a short walk from Lindenwald, where Washington Irving boarded in 1809. Even though The Legend of Sleepy Hollow takes place in Tarrytown, tradition holds that the Van Alen House was the home of the "real" Katrina Van Tassel, one of the story's main characters., [Captions:] , Early 20th century chromolithograph postcard portraying the return of Rip Van Winkle after his 20 years sleep. CCHS Collection, “Classic Comics No. 12 Rip Van Winkle and the Headless Horseman” 1942 illus. by Rolland H. Livingston, Gilberton Co., Inc., Washington Irving c. 1931 from a collection porcelain and paper mâché figures depicting noted historical figures in Columbia County's history. CCHS Collection, Washington Irving as a young man. Library of Congress, Headless Horseman reenactment at Van Alen House c. 1968.