Washington Irving gave us the word “knickers”. The illustrated representation of Irving’s fictional author of his novel, Knickerbocker’s History of New York, shows Diedrich Knickerbocker wearing knee-length breeches, and so this name and the breeches became forever associated with one another. [1]
The story of Rip van Winkle was first published on 23 June 1819, as part of a collection of short stories titled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent written by Washington Irving, a renowned American author of the 19th century.
The last piece in the collection, Rip van Winkle, was advertised as a newly discovered work by the late Diedrich Knickerbocker, an elderly Dutch-American historian author. Knickerbocker was the product of Irving’s imagination and totally fictitious. This collection introduced the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon, which Irving would continue to use throughout his literary career.
The basis for this story was a folk tale, Peter Klaus the Goatherd, in the collection Volkssagen (1800), one of the books Irving read while he was studying German. Irving’s story follows a lazy villager living in colonial New York named Rip van Winkle who, one day, wanders into the mountains with his dog to escape his wife’s nagging. There he meets some mysterious Dutchmen and, after accepting their offer of a drink of liquor he quickly falls into a deep sleep. When he awakens, he discovers shocking changes: his musket is rotting and rusty, his beard is a foot long, and his dog is nowhere to be found. He returns to his village, where he knows no one until one elderly woman recognises him as the long-lost Rip Van Winkle and he learns that 20 years have passed. He finds his wife is dead, his children have grown, and he has missed the American Revolution.
Published between 1819 and 1820, The Sketch Book was a collection of 34 essays and short stories that helped establish Irving as one of the foremost literary figures of his time and significantly contributed to the development of American literature.
Living in London at the time, Irving also arranged for a British edition of The Sketch Book to be printed at his expense. When the publisher went bankrupt, Sir Walter Scott, who admired Irving’s work, arranged for another printer. The collection was the first American work to gain international literary success and popularity making Irving a celebrity and allowing him to devote himself to writing.
Rip van Winkle is celebrated for its exploration of themes like the passage of time, the effects of change, and the tension between tradition and progress. It has become a quintessential piece of American literature, known for its vivid characters, charming narrative, and the enduring image of Rip van Winkle waking up to a world that has moved on without him.
Internet Archive: Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
Story Nory: Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
Internet Archive: The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent by Washington Irving
Susannah Fullerton: Sunnyside, Tarrytown, New York
Susannah Fullerton: Sir Walter Scott
Susannah Fullerton: Literary Statues