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When Washington Irving's Sketch Book first appeared in 1819, readers in America and aboard greeted it with enthusiasm, and Irving emerged as America's first successful professional author. The pieces about life in England are gently ironic, reflecting the author's interest in the traditions of the Old World and his longings for his home in the New. But it is in 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' that Irving exhibits his true strength: the ability to depict American landscapes and culture so vividly that readers feel themselves a part of them. And it is on the basis of these two classic tales that Irving is generally credited with inventing the short story as a distinct literary genre.
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