Washington Irving image

Washington Irving

17830- 1859: American author. Washington Irving was born and raised in New York City, the youngest of eleven children of a prosperous merchant family. Named after President George Washington (1732–1799), Irving was fascinated by the upper class of New York City and would often sneak out of family prayer meetings to attend the local theatre.A dreamy and uninspired student, Irving apprenticed (worked to gain experience in a trade) himself in a law office rather than follow his elder brothers to nearby Columbia College. In his free time, he read avidly and wandered when he could around the misty, rolling Hudson River Valley. This area just north of New York City was steeped in local folklore and legend and served as an inspiration for his later writings.Read more: https://www.notablebiographies.com

Titles by this author: