Literature Network » Washington Irving

IRVING, WASHINGTON (1783-1859)

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From: Young Students Learning Library
Date: 19960101
Author:

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Washington Irving has been called the ``Father of American Literature.' ' He was the first important fiction writer in the United States and one of the first American authors to use the short-story form. His humorous stories and other writings won him fame in Europe as well as at home.

Irving was born in New York City. As a young man, he began a career as a lawyer. But he preferred writing, and soon began to publish articles and essays. He published a humorous History of New York in 1809, under the made-up name Diedrich Knickerbocker. This book poked fun at history and at ...

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