Washington Irving, An American Original

Washington Irving: An American Original
by Brian Jay Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This biography gave me a whole new perspective on past history and its heroes. It was slow reading at first, but I gradually found myself drawn to Washington Irving and his life. Along with his story came the history that was unfolding inthe United States and our leaders.

Some of my thoughts-
Fame is fleeting. I remember Washington Irving stories from my grade school days. I think of him as Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. However, for his time and our time he is so much more that these two stories. I wonder if other people remember him only because of them.

Notes from the book:
"Washington Irving was the first American writer to live by his pen and the first to have an international reputation." He paved the way for authors such as: James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe. Their main source of income was not their writing. Irving was constantly trying to find a way to make money. He was educated as a lawyer, but it didn't really suit him. At first he wrote under pseudonyms because he was afraid people wouldn't like what he wrote. His first book, 'A History of New York', was written by Diedrich Knickerbocker. (The New York Knicks owe him their name.)

He always had a wanderlust and headed for England where he found himself running the family trading company. He was helping his brother Peter who was sickly most of his life. He didn't return to the United State until fourteen years later. While there he wrote 'The Sketch Book' and 'Tales of a Traveller' under the name of Geoffrey Crayon. 'The Life and Voyage of Christopher Columbus' was the first publication that carried his name as the author.

He spent several years as a Minister from the United States to the Spanish Court. Finally, he returned home to stay. His crowning achievement was his five volume set, 'The Life of George Washington'. When he was five, he had met and was blessed by George Washington. He had always felt that it was his destiny to do write about his life.

Irving was born in 1783 and died at the age of 76 in 1859. Over his lifetime "Politicians, writers, actors, artists, and wannabes of every type clamored to be associated with him. A friend to six presidents, he had danced with Dolley Madison in the White House, consoled Martin Van Buren in London, flattered a young Queen Isabella in Madrid as John Tyler's minister to Spain. John Jacob Astor tapped him to be his personal biographer, Mary Shelley had a crush on him. Edgar Allen Poe flattered him. Sir Walter Scott loved him. Dickens, Longfellow, and Haw throne adored him. Even those like James Fenimore Cooper who loathed him gave his work their grudging respect." (found on page 408) Washington Irving was the 'Rock Star' of his time.

It took me several months to read this book. There was so much to absorb that I couldn't do it straight through. It was slow reading and it took me a while to warm up to Washington Irving. However, when he died and was laid to rest at Sleepy Hollow I had tears running down my face.

I highly recommend this biography it will give you a real appreciation for Irving and the times in which he lived. Thank you Mr. Jones for such a wonderful tribute.

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Lady Almina and the Real Downtown Abby

Update to previous post...

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle 
by The Countess of Carnarvon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This year I started watching Downton Abbey on Masterpiece Theater on PBS.  As I watch it, I keep thinking of Lady Almina walking up and down the stairs! 

Posted in June, 2012
I admit I have not watched the Downton Abbey TV series. I am not sure I will, but I am very glad I read this book. Reading it gave me a real sense of the history of England from the end of the Victorian Era until the end of World War I. The aristocracy and its strict rules of personal conduct began to unravel during this period. (As was pointed out in the book, it really didn't become as we know it today until the end of World War II.)

The book was written by the present Countess of Carnarvon who had available to her a lot of the family documents. I felt a real sense of connection to the Carnarvon's and their social circle. Of special interest was the fact that Lord Carnarvon along with Howard Clark was responsible for finding the unopened tomb of Tutankhamen. In fact, without his and his wife's financial support was crucial in the success of the venture.  I was especially interested because I did see the King Tut Exhibit when it came to Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1980's.

More importantly...the horrors of World War I were all too real. Almost a whole generation of British men were lost in the war. After the end of the war more that 50 million people worldwide died from the Spanish Influenza, more people than had died in the war.

Lady Almina

Lady Almina played her part by turning Highclere, their country estate, into a hospital using the funds from her father, Sir Alfred Charles de Rothschild. He was very generous with his money. Lady Almina was generous with money, but also with her time and energy. She found her life's work in nursing the ill when she founded the hospital.

Highclere Castle

I highly recommend you read this book. You will shed a few tears, both happy and sad. You will close the book with a better sense of the difference between war then and now.

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