University of Virginia Library University of Virginia
Early American Fiction Collection

EAF Author: Washington Irving (1783-1859)

Works in the Collection      Manuscript Materials      Biographies      Other Resources

Washington Irving, one of the most beloved and influential American writers during the nineteenth century, is remembered today for having written "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." In these stories, as well as in Diedrich Knickerbocker's History of New York, Irving celebrated the folkways of New York's Dutch settlers. Fascinated by European culture, Irving travelled to England in 1815, where he produced The Sketch Book, a collection of sentimental and satiric sketches and stories narrated by Geoffrey Crayon, Gentleman. Following the great success of The Sketch Book, Irving decided to devote himself to authorship and produced a number of histories, travel narratives, and sketches through the rest of his career. Esteemed as an important "literary personage," Irving served as ambassador to Spain. He finally retired to his pastoral retreat Sunnyside in the 1840s, where he received frequent visitations from fellow writers and fans.

Works in the EAF Collection

The Alhambra: A Series of Tales and Sketches of the Moors and Spaniards (1832) [Volume 1] [Volume 2] (Restricted)

The Beauties of Washington Irving (1835) (Restricted)

A Book of the Hudson. Collected from the Various Works of Diedrich Knickerbocker edited by Geoffrey Crayon [pseud] (1849) (Restricted)

Bracebridge Hall; or, The Humorists. A Medley by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. [pseud] (1822) [Volume 1] [Volume 2] (Restricted)

A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada by Fray Antonio Agapida [pseud] (1829) [Volume 1] [Volume 2] (Restricted)

The Crayon Miscellany: (Restricted)
Volume 1: "A Tour on the Prairies" (1835)
Volume 2: "Abbotsford" and "Newstead Abbey" (1835)
Volume 3: "Legends of the Conquest of Spain" (1835)

The Devil and Tom Walker: Together with Deacon Grubb and the Old Nick (1830) (Restricted)

"The Early Experiences of Ralph Ringwood" , from The Knickerbocker Sketch-Book (1845) (Restricted)

"The First Locomotive Again" , from The Knickerbocker Sketch-Book (1845) (Restricted)

"The Guests from Gibbet-Island: A Legend of Communipaw" , from The Knickerbocker Sketch-Book (1845) (Restricted)

A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty by Diedrich Knickerbocker [pseud] (1809) [Volume 1] [Volume 2]

Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent. (1824) (Restricted)

"Mountjoy; or, Some Passages Out of the Life of a Castlebuilder" , from The Knickerbocker Sketch-Book (1845) (Restricted)

The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (1819) [Volume 1] [Volume 2] [Volume 3] [Volume 4] (Restricted)

Tales of a Traveller (1824) [Volume 1] [Volume 2] [Volume 3] [Volume 4]

Wolfert's Roost and Other Papers, Now First Collected (1855) (Restricted)

Works (1840) [Volume 1] [Volume 2] (Restricted)

Contemporary Biographies

From Oscar Fay Adams, A Dictionary of American Authors (1901)

From Samuel Austin Allibone, A Critical Dictionary of English Literature (1900)

From Evert A. Duyckinck, Cyclopaedia of American Literature (1856)