Bracebridge Hall. This item is unavailable.Bracebridge Hall

Irving as "Geoffrey Crayon" observes with a sharp eye the lives and customs of nineteenth century British gentry and villagers

Washington Irving (1783 - 1859) was an American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820), both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of George Washington, Oliver Goldsmith and Muhammad and several histories of 15th-century Spain dealing with subjects such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors and the Alhambra. Irving served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. Irving, along with James Fenimore Cooper, was among the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe. As America's first genuine internationally best-selling author, Irving advocated for writing as a legitimate profession and argued for stronger laws to protect American writers from copyright infringement.