Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Washington Irving was America's first man of letters to be known internationally. His works were received enthusiastically both in England and in the United States. He was, in fact, one of the most successful writers of his time in either country, delighting a large generalpublic and at the same time winning the admiration of fellow writers like Scott in Britain and Poe and Hawthorne in the United States. The respect in which he was held was partly owing to the man himself, with his warm friendliness, his good sense, his urbanity, his gay spirits, has artistic integrity, his love of both the Old World and the new. Thackeray described Irving as "a gentleman, who, though himself born in no very high sphere, was most finished, polished, witty; socially th