Just call him Washington...
Geoffrey Crayon is Washington Irving. He used the pseudonym previously in his authored works, so it was nothing new....but international recognition as a serious American author was. Only two early American authors, Irving being one, garnered such literary legitimacy for the burgeoning United States, James Fenimore Cooper being the other. Published in 1819 as a collection of his short stories, Irving's "Sketch Book" contains all of his most famous stories...from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to Rip Van Winkle.
The publishing history is rather profound. In the United States, they were released in their first edition form as paperback "magazine" books...in seven serialized issues. These are not available as virtual scans, so the true first edition of the "Sketch Book" is not available...yet. In England, where Washington Irving was living at the time, the first edition was released as two hardbound books and it just so happens, there are four extra stories not included in the American edition. It was not until the 1825 American edition that these extra stories were seen in the United States. Finally, a definitive edition was printed in the U.S. in 1848.
Post a Comment