Washington Irving: An American Original by Brian Jay Jones

Source of book: Borrowed from the library

 

I have read two other biographies by Brian Jay Jones: Becoming Dr. Seuss, and Jim Henson: The Biography. I like that his books aren’t hagiographies, but also aren’t hit pieces. His subjects are presented in their full humanity. 

 

Washington Irving: An American Original, is a bit different from the other two. Both Dr. Seuss and Jim Henson were alive during my own lifetime, and both lived in a very different media environment than Washington Irving. Thus, there is so much more information available on their personal lives. And also, living people to interview regarding the events and the people involved. 

 

For a figure who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries, in the newborn United States, there is a lot less to work off of. On the other hand, it was an era of extensive correspondence and diary writing, so certain aspects are easier to find than others. 

 

In the case of Irving, his own writings, in letters, notes, and diary entries, are deliciously witty and personal. So much of the person shows through, and I think he would be a good addition to my own dream dinner party guest list. 

 

Most of us know Washington Irving from two of his stories, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and “Rip Van Winkle.” These two have become part of the American cultural fabric - indeed the American mythology itself. And deservedly so - they are great stories! 

 

However, many have never read beyond these two, and have missed the delightful world that Irving created, as the first American author to support himself with his writing. 

 

Years before starting this blog, I read pretty much all of his fiction. The fact that I downloaded it off of Gutenberg and read it on my Palm tells you something about the era. These days, I have a hardback with much of his shorter fiction. 

 

I will particularly note that The Alhambra and A History of New York are favorites of mine. 

 

Irving also wrote non-fiction, particularly biographies of persons from Columbus to Mohammed to George Washington. These haven’t aged as well as his fiction. It was a different era, with different standards of research and objectivity. But they paid his bills at the time - which was important. 

 

This book talks a lot about the specific circumstances of Irving’s family. He was the last child in a large family, with a 20-year span in ages. The family importing business supported everyone for years, but failed due in no small part to the mismanagement of the European branch by Irving’s brother Peter. From then on, Irving had to support not only himself, but several of his siblings. He wasn’t thrilled at having to live by his pen, but he did it, becoming America’s most famous author at the time, even though he is less read these days than he should be. 

 

Also virtually unknown to most is that Irving originated two of the most familiar terms applied to New York City. 

 

Yes indeed, the name of “Gotham” was created by Irving, in a story about a city that was clearly meant to be New York. 

 

His character of Dietrich Knickerbocker - the supposed Dutch settlor who narrates A History of New York as a pseudonym for Irving, has become so associated with the city that its professional basketball team is named after him. 

 

Yet another unknown fact about Irving is that a dream sequence in A History of New York is considered to be an early appearance of Santa Claus in a form similar to that which would be popularized in the subsequent decades. 

 

Not only that, but none other than Dickens himself (who admired Irving) would credit Irving’s early Christmas stories as the foundation for his own, including the ghost story elements.

 

And there’s one more! An early story of his coined the phrase “almighty dollar.” 

 

Jones argues that Irving is a perfect embodiment of the young United States, for better and worse. He was a literary superstar, brutally handsome, charming and personable. He hung out with the glitterati of the day, would have been a tabloid darling. But he also was terrible with money, struggled with writer's block, feuded with his publishers, and suffered from imposter syndrome. 

 

His love life was also…interesting. Jones makes a pretty good case that he was gay, or at least bisexual. But probably the former. He had close relationships with men throughout his life, and, although nothing explicit was in the open in that era, there are enough indications of these relationships that his homosexuality is not just plausible, but probable.

 

Those who disagree point to his early engagement to a young woman, who tragically died of tuberculosis before they could marry. After that, he pled a broken heart as the reason why he never married. The closest he came was to propose to a young woman half his age - she turned him down, to nobody’s surprise. 

 

Irving started out as a lawyer. A very bad one, primarily because his heart wasn’t in it. This was pretty much his only option for a career at the time, since he was uninterested in being a part of the family business. (And, he had multiple brothers already working there - a place wasn’t really open for him.) 

 

His real interest (other than being a society gadfly) was in writing. He and some friends started out with a magazine, Salmagundi, in which some of Irving’s alter egos would appear. The publication was mostly satire, taking shots at more serious periodicals as well as local political and social figures. 

 

His next project - and his first big hit - was his spoof of more serious histories of New York, A History of New York. 

 

And it all started with a clever marketing hoax. 

 

Notices were taken out in local papers about a missing elderly historian, Dietrich Knickerbocker, said to have disappeared. This created quite a stir, and prepared the way for the “discovery” of Knickerbocker’s great manuscript. 

 

By the time the book was published, the stir was sensational, and the fact that the book was hilarious, wickedly satirical, and very much aligned with the mood of the times, led to its becoming a smash. 

 

And then, writer’s block struck. 

 

Irving would move to London, to try to rescue the family business from Peter’s mismanagement. He would serve for a while as an assistant to the American ambassador - a job he did quite well. (He would years later be appointed ambassador to Spain, where he likewise shined. He was a good schmoozer, read people well, and de-escalated tensions to pave the way for agreements.) 

 

Eventually, his need for money led him to write again. And also, meeting Sir Walter Scott, who became a good friend. 

 

He resurrected the character of Geoffrey Crayon (from his Salmagundi days), writing a series of books mostly about Europe. And also the two famous stories mentioned above, which established his literary reputation.

 

He would eventually return to America to great acclaim, build a beautiful home in upstate New York, dote on his favorite nieces and nephews, and finally die at the relatively old age of 76, surrounded by family and friends. Not a bad life at all.  

 

I won’t get into the specifics of the biography beyond that. It is a fascinating story of a fascinating man, and better told by Jones than me. 

 

I would be remiss if I didn’t quote a few of the witticisms in the book, both by Irving and others.

 

In describing his rigid Calvinist upbringing, Irving had this to say about religion:

 

“When I was a child, religion was forced upon me before I could understand or appreciate it. I was made to swallow it whether I would or not, and that too in its most ungracious forms. I was tasked with it; thwarted with it; wearied with it in a thousand harsh and disagreeable ways; until I was disgusted with all its forms and observances.” 

 

He was hardly the only one to find fundamentalist religion to be a turnoff. Later, he would include ideologues in general in his condemnation.

 

“I have no relish for puritans either in religion or politics, who are pushing for principles to an extreme, and overturning everything that stands in the way of their own zealous career…I always distrust the soundness of political councils that are accompanied by acrimonious and disparaging attacks upon any great class of our fellow citizens.” 

 

 At one point, finally offered the government sinecure he had earlier dreamed of, declined. 

 

“It is not so much the duties of the office that I fear, but I shrink from the harsh cares and turmoils of public and political life at Washington, and feel that I am too sensitive to endure the bitter personal hostility, and the slanders and misrepresentations of the press.” 

 

Irving didn’t like critics much, and critics all too often were harsh on him even as the public bought up his books. Irving’s best friend (and probably his lover as a young adult) Henry Brevoort, took Irving’s side in a letter after a scathing review by Francis Jeffrey. 

 

“His foible is an unceasing effort to act the high finished gentleman. Consequently he is blessed with such an immaculate degree of taste as to contemn every thing in the world both moral & physical.” 

 

I love seeing that sadly archaic word, “contemn” again. It really should come back into common usage. It is not the same as “condemn,” but is related to “contempt.” No need to go destroying things or sending them to hell. Just a good cutting look or remark. 

 

Irving ended up spending over a decade and a half in Europe before returning. In a letter to one of his brothers, he explained himself. 

 

“Do not, I beseech you, impute my lingering in Europe to any indifference to my own country or my friends. My greatest desire is to make myself worthy of the good-will of my country…I am determined not to return home until I have sent some writings before me that shall, if they have merit, make me return to smiles, rather than skulk back to the pity of my friends.”

 

Indeed, he did return to smiles, a true American celebrity. 

 

A rather significant topic in the book turns out to be copyright laws. Irving had to be careful to secure publishers both in European countries (England in particular) and in the United States, otherwise the law would permit the stealing of his works. Not-in-print works were fair game. 

 

Irving also complained about readers who thought the books were too expensive. 

 

“If the American public wish to have literature of their own, they must consent to pay for the support of authors.”

 

This remains true today, as does the conflict between creators and publishers over rates. 

 

There is also an incident where a British publisher insisted Irving change some of his stories to be kinder to the clergy. Irving complied, but grudgingly, noting that he based his characters on his own experience, promising “not to venture too far even when I have fact on my side.” 

 

During his career as a diplomat, he did get some pithy observations in. On attending the young Victoria’s grand ball, the social event of the year, “he noted that the only person who didn’t seem to be having any fun was the young queen, who was constantly pushing her own crown up off her forehead.” 

 

Those of us of a certain age probably think of this:

 

Another funny line came when the railroad was run within a few hundred feet of his beautiful country home. 

 

“If the Garden of Eden were now on Earth, they would not hesitate to run a railroad through it.” 

 

I also liked his musing upon turning 70, quite the old age in that era. 

 

“I have reached the allotted limit of existence - all beyond is especial indulgence. So long as I can retain my present health and spirits, I am happy to live, for I think my life is important to the happiness of others; but as soon as my life becomes useless to others, and joyless to myself, I hope I may be relieved from the burden; and I shall lay it down with heartfelt thanks to that Almighty Power which has guided my incautious steps through so many uncertain and dangerous ways, and enabled me to close my career in serenity and peace.” 

 

What more can any of us hope for?

 

It was a fun experience to learn more about Washington Irving’s life, and about who he was - I really think he would have been a blast to be around. 

 

But more than that, I truly wish more people would discover his delightful writing beyond the two best-known stories.