Washington Irving is one of America's most enduring, and beloved authors. For nothing else, people know Washington Irving as the author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Tales of a Traveler was written in 1824, under the pseudonym "Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." One of Irving's better-known pseudonyms was Diedrich Knickerbocker, a name inextricably linked to New York City, and to today's New York Knicks. Tales of a Traveler tells a number of humorous stories and anecdotes about exotic dinners and the European travels of Geoffrey Crayon and his colorful relatives. Full of dry wit, Tales of a Traveler will please readers today as much as it pleased them in the early 19th century.

Author Biography

Washington Irving (1783 - 1859) was an American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820), both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of George Washington, Oliver Goldsmith, Muhammad and several histories of 15th-century Spain dealing with subjects such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors and the Alhambra. Irving served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. Irving made his literary debut in 1802 with a series of observational letters to the Morning Chronicle, written under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle. After moving to England for the family business in 1815, he achieved international fame with the publication of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. in 1819-20.