Getting to Know Washington Irving, the Original Knickerbocker and the Father of the American Short Story
Irving wrote ‘Rip Van Winkle,’ ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,’ and inspired a pro sports team’s moniker
In Dec. 1809, a little-known writer came out with a book with a wordy title. A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty was a satirical account of New York’s Dutch past when it was called New Amsterdam.
The book’s creator, Washington Irving, published it using a pen name, Diedrich Knickerbocker. And Knickerbocker narrates the book.
Irving and his brother, Peter, first planned for A History of New York to parody a pamphlet they’d read titled “A Picture of New York.” But Peter left New York for Europe, and Washington Irving took control of the project.
Washington Irving realized that, at the time, most New Yorkers knew nothing of the city’s founding as a Dutch colony. So, he conceived of an entertaining and somewhat fictitious way of educating them.
A History of New York helped New Yorkers better understand their city’s and state’s history.
Irving took liberty with some historical details, though. As he wrote in the introduction to an…
