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America's first international literary celebrity was born
in New York City, the eleventh child in a close-knit family.
After writing satirical sketches and essays for his brothers'
newspapers for some years, Irving captured the nation's attention
with the fictitious A History of New York, supposedly
written by a curious old gentleman named Diedrich Knickerbocker.
In May 1815, Irving left the country for what would be a seventeen-year
sojourn in Europe, where he worked first as an importer in
Liverpool, then as an attaché to the American legation
in Spain, and finally as secretary to the American legation
in London. His diverse works range from The Life and Voyages
of Christopher Columbus (1828) and The Alhambra (1832),
both written during his stay in Spain, to A Tour of the
Prairies (1835) and The Adventures of Captain Bonneville
U.S.A. (1837), from studies of the American West written
on his return from Europe, to a five-volume life of George
Washington. However, his Sketch Book (1819-20), which
included "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow", remains his most recognized and influential contribution
to American literature.
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