Washington’s descriptions of the mountains were as inviting as Rip’s story, helping to promote early travel to the area. The tale conjured the landscape of the Catskills with such bewitching clarity readers could almost smell the freshness of the summer day which greeted Rip after his long slumber. Upon waking, he found that years had passed colonies were now states formed by revolution, his children were grown and his wife dead. Sneaking a few tankards himself, he soon fell into a deep sleep. On one such venture into the Catskill Mountains, he met with a party of strangely dressed men playing ninepins and drinking ale. Irving began writing a series of stories and essays under the nom de plume “Geoffrey Crayon.” The collection, titled: The Sketch Book, included the story of Rip Van Winkle, a kind-hearted but languid man whose wife so hen-pecked him, he would retreat into the forests and mountains surrounding his home daily. In 1815, Washington traveled to England where he met Sir Walter Scott, who encouraged him to continue writing. Though he studied law, it seems that early on in his life, Irving was first and foremost a passionate writer crafting essays for periodicals and whimsical travel journals about his exploits in Europe. Born in New York City in April 1783 and named after George Washington, the soon-to-be president renowned as the hero of the American Revolution, Irving had 10 brothers and sisters.
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