I remember thinking when I started reading this odd little book (for no reason, really -- I'd just seen it listed at gutenberg.org) "wow -- who knew that Washington Irving was so goofy?" It's actually pretty hysterical at times, and made me want to explore Irving further. He was certainly never even on the fringes of my attention before this.

In 1809, Irving published his first book, A History of New York, from the point of view of a Dutch professor named Diedrich Knickerbocker. He promoted the book by claiming the professor was a real person. As Irving was working on this book, he fell in love with Matilda Hoffman, and shortly after the book was published, she died of "consumption". Irving dropped his writing and traveled aimlessly in Europe, eventually taking up a room in the Alhambra, which revived him with its grace and beauty, and its history of great suffering and irony.