Essays: Nine Humorous Essays

Washington Irving's Essays gathers the graceful, observant prose that helped define early American literary culture. Blending travel writing, character sketch, antiquarian reflection, and genial social criticism, Irving writes in a polished, conversational style indebted to Addison, Steele, and Goldsmith, yet alert to the emerging identity of the young republic. His essays move easily between Old World memory and New World sensibility, using wit, nostalgia, and carefully balanced irony to examine manners, history, imagination, and the pleasures of literary life. Irving was uniquely placed to produce such writing. Born in New York in 1783, he came of age as the United States sought cultural legitimacy beyond politics and commerce. His travels in Europe, diplomatic appointments, and wide reading gave him a transatlantic perspective, while his attachment to Dutch New York supplied the local color that made his voice distinctive. He wrote as both cosmopolitan observer and affectionate interpreter of American experience. This volume is recommended to readers interested in the origins of American prose, the essay as an art form, and literature that combines elegance with humane intelligence. Irving rewards slow reading: his charm is urbane, but his cultural importance is substantial.

Pages: 36, Paperback, Sharp Ink