Two of America’s earliest authors were Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe. They established the first stages of what would become the American prose tradition, and both can be classified, in some ways, as originators of the Neo-Gothic. Irving was a bit older than Poe. Although his personal life had its share of ups and downs, he made his literary fame with his satirical retelling of the history of New York. He became an overnight sensation. Some thought him the funniest writer ever. Running out of money while living in England, he began publishing his series of “Sketches” or short stories. Among them his most famous works, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The latter, according to some, established the spooky autumnal scene as the perfect venue for the scary story. Irving met John Allan while in London. Edgar was traveling with his step-father there, but may have been too young at the time to know that he’d met ...
Blog of a struggling writer.