A WASHINGTON IRVING SKETCH BOOK

Appreciative “belletristic treatment” of America’s first professional writer.

Irving (1783-1859) was a “minor writer,” acknowledges fellow essayist and man of letters Lopate, who includes himself in that category. But these writers “have their fascinations; indeed, they may be one of the glories of literature.” This short, chatty book makes a strong case for Irving as an author well worth reading beyond his two most famous tales, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” While those two reflect the writer’s fascination with the folklore and ghost stories of the Hudson River Valley, where he settled toward the end of his life, Irving expressed in much of his work the “skeptical, secular, ironic, pluralistic” spirit of his beloved hometown, New York City. He was the son of a merchant with a home and shop on William Street in Lower Manhattan, the youngest of eight surviving children, and close with his siblings throughout his life. The failure of the family business left him responsible for the support of several of them and completed his transition to full-time author. (He also briefly held a diplomatic post during a 17-year stay in Europe and later served as ambassador to Spain.) Lopate demonstrates that Irving wrote well in many genres: from satire (A History of New York, allegedly written by a crusty Dutchman) and travel literature (The Alhambra) to a trio on books the American West (A Tour of the Prairies) and a quartet of biographies showcasing his skills as a researcher and historian. Ambling through life and work highlights, Lopate employs substantial quotations to give readers a good sense of Irving’s witty, graceful, and polished prose, “seen [at the time] as setting a civilized standard,” he notes, regretting that contemporary critics don’t set much store by those qualities. Those interested in the development of American literature may be spurred by Lopate’s friendly account to seek out books by this pioneering author.

Agreeable and engaging, much like Irving himself.