Washington Irving uses borrowed material from the Dutch and German's to create stories of his own.

Washington Irving was born in the year that America became officially recognized by England as an independent country. He spent much of his life in Europe so it is not surprising that some of his greatest literary work should imitate the people and countries of the continent. Even so, much of his work also reflected his love for New York as well as the changing political and social era that he was born into. Irving's greatest and most memorable works include, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent" and though they are revered as American classics, they owe much of their storylines to European folklore and personas.

'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent" established Irving as a respectable author both in the U.S. And...
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