Bibliography and Further Reading
Last Updated July 24, 2024.
Sources
Banks, Jennifer S., "Washington Irving, the Nineteenth-Century American Bachelor," in Critical Essays on Washington Irving, edited by Ralph M. Aderman, G. K. Hall, 1990, pp. 253-54.
Blakemore, Steven, "Family Resemblances: The Texts and Contexts of 'Rip Van Winkle'," in Early American Literature, Vol. 35, 2000, pp. 187-212.
Bowden, Mary Weatherspoon, Washington Irving, Twayne, 1981, pp. 50-51.
Campbell, Joseph, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Princeton University Press, 1968, pp. 30, 51, 72, 77, 218, 220, 226.
Dawson, William P., "'Rip Van Winkle' as Bawdy Satire: The Rascal and the Revolution," in ESQ: A Journal of the American Renaissance, Vol. 27, 1981, p. 198.
Jeffrey, Francis, Review of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., in the Edinburgh Review, Vol. 34, August 1820, pp. 160-76.
Martin, Terence, "Rip, Ichabod, and the American Imagination," in American Literature, Vol. 31, May 1959, pp. 137-49.
Pochmann, Henry A., "Irving's German Sources in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.," in Studies in Philology, Vol. 27, July 1930, pp. 489-94.
Turner, Deanna C., "Shattering the Fountain: Irving's Re-Vision of 'Kubla Khan' in 'Rip Van Winkle'," in Symbiosis: A Journal of Anglo-American Literary Relations, Vol. 4, No. 1, April 2000, pp. 1-17.
Tuttleton, James W., "Style and Fame: The Sketch Book," in Washington Irving: The Critical Reaction, edited by James W. Tuttleton, AMS Press, 1993, p. 52.
Young, Philip, "Fallen from Time: The Mythic 'Rip Van Winkle'," in Washington Irving: The Critical Reaction, edited by James W. Tuttleton, AMS Press, 1993, p. 84.
Further Reading
Bowden, Edwin T., Washington Irving: Bibliography, Boston: Twayne, 1989. Volume 30 in The Complete Works of Washington Irving, this is the most comprehensive and current bibliography available.
Hedges, William L., Washington Irving: An American Study, 1802-1832, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1965. Hedges focuses on Irving's early work, including "Rip Van Winkle," interpreting it as a tragicomic tale about the fear of marriage. Interestingly, Hedges asserts that Irving's most important works were created while he resided in Europe.
Wagenknecht, Edward, Washington Irving: Moderation Displayed, Oxford University Press, 1962. This concise and accessible biography provides an analysis of Irving's major works and serves as a crucial resource for understanding his significance during his lifetime.
Wells, Robert V., "While Rip Napped: Social Change in Late Eighteenth-Century New York," in New York History, Vol. 70, January 1990, pp. 5-23. Wells, a literary historian, explores the demographic, family, and social transformations in New York during Rip's slumber, concluding that Irving had a deep awareness of these changes.
Bibliography
Bowden, Mary Weatherspoon. Washington Irving. Boston: Twayne, 1981. A general introduction to the work, including a chronology and an annotated bibliography. Bowden emphasizes the integrity of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., in which “Rip Van Winkle” first appeared, and suggests that Irving’s greatest literary accomplishment was his style.
Hedges, William L. Washington Irving: An American Study, 1802-1832. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1965. Although Hedges believes that Irving reached an intellectual dead end by 1825, he asserts that in his greatest works, including “Rip Van Winkle,” Irving stands as an important forerunner in style to Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry James and in narrative and thematic concerns to Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville.
Myers, Andrew B., ed. A Century of Commentary on the Works of Washington Irving. New York: Sleepy Hollow Restorations, 1976. A representative sampling of critical writing about Irving.
Roth, Martin. Comedy and America: The Lost World of Washington Irving. Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1976. Argues that “Rip Van Winkle” is one of the few exceptions to a decline in Irving’s work already underway by the writing of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
Rubin-Dorsky, Jeffrey. Adrift in the Old World: The Psychological Pilgrimage of Washington Irving. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988. Emphasizes the “Americanness” of Irving, the way he was shaped by, and came to identify himself with, his country and its particular heritage. The tale Irving tells in “Rip Van Winkle” reenacts Americans’ doubts about identity and their fantasies of escape.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.