Washington Irving - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
...bocker. “In 1809, using this pen name (Diedrich Knickerbocker), Irving wrote “A History of New York” that describes and pokes fun at the lives of the early Dutch settlers of Manhattan. Eventually this pen name came to mean a person from New York and is where the basketball team The New York Knickerbockers (Knicks) got its name” (Historic 1). Irving enjoyed visiting different places and a large part of his life was spent in Europe, particularly England, France, Germany, and Spain. He often wrote about the places he visited. “However, in spite of his foreign travels, Irving’s imagination frequently drew upon his childhood memories of New York State. These memories are reflected in letters that he wrote to family and friends from Europe, as well as in the stories from “The Sketch Book,” published in 1819 under yet another pen name, “Geoffrey Crayon, Gent” (Historic 2). The fictional Sleepy Hollow is actually the lower Hudson Valley area near Tarrytown, N.Y. and Rip Van Winkle sleeps through the entire Revolutionary War in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. By the late 1820’s, Irving had gained a reputation throughout Europe and America as a great writer and thinker. Because of his popularity, Irving received many important honors. The Spanish were so pleased with Irving’s writing that in 1828, they elected him to the Real Academia de la Historia. In 1830, Irving received a gold medal in history from the Royal Society of Literature in London, and also received honorary degrees from Oxford, Columbia, and Harvard. Irving was also active in the field of diplomacy. In 1842, American President Tyler appointed him Minister to Spain. This meant he traveled throughout Europe as a diplomatic representative of the United States (Historic 4). Fred Lewis Pattee wrote about Irving’s contributions: “He made short fiction popular, stripped the prose tale of its didactic elements and made it a literary form solely for entertainment; added richness of atmosphere and unity of tone; added definite locality and actual American scenery and people; brought a peculiar nicety of execution and patient workmanship; added humor and lightness of touch; was original; created characters who are always definite individuals; and endowed the short story with a style that is finished and beautiful.” (Lambardi 20) On November 28, 1859, on the eve of the Civil War, Washington Irving died at Sunnyside surrounded by his family. He was buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. However, decades following Irving’s death his “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” would become legendary itself. Sleepy Hollow has been used and played in theatrical plays, Hollywood movies, and children’s shows such as Wishbone on PBS. “This book is really great for children because it is a mysterious tale that many children can get into. This is a book that can be for adults but it is written in a way that children can read it and love it as well. It keeps kids thinking and wondering what is going to happen next. This is something that a book should do because it keeps kids interested and into the book” (Amazon 8). Hollywood’s famous director of gothic-themed “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Edward Scissorhands,” Tim Burton, set out to take Irving’s story onto the big screen as well. The movie has s...