Washington Irving

Washington Irving Biography

Discover the captivating biography and a collection of 12 beloved Washington Irving books available for free download on your favorite devices. Whether you have an iPhone, iPad, Android, or Kindle, you can enjoy these literary treasures in PDF and all popular eBook reader formats, including AZW3, EPUB, and MOBI.

Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat, who lived from 1783 to 1859. He is best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle," which were published in his collection "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." in 1820. Both stories are set in the Hudson Valley and are considered some of the earliest examples of American literature.

Irving was born in New York City and studied law before turning to writing. He began his career as a writer under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon, and his works were published in various magazines and newspapers. He was also a founding member of the "Knickerbocker Group" which was a group of New York-based writers who helped establish the literary identity of the city and the nation in the early 19th century.

In addition to his short stories, Irving also wrote several biographies, histories and travel books, including "A History of New York" which was a satirical history of the city. He also served as a diplomat for the United States, serving as the U.S. ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. He was also the first foreign correspondent to be based in the White House. Irving was a popular figure in his time and was considered one of the most distinguished men of letters in America. He died in 1859 in New York City and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Tarrytown, New York.