Washington Irving Washington Irving was relatively quiet after his years of law school until he embarked on a seventeen year expedition through Europe in 1815. During his travels, he met he English writers who would be most influential on him and his writings. The group consisted of Joseph Addison, Oliver Goldsmith, and Sir Walter Scott. One of his earliest works was published under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon in 1819, The Sketch Book. Included in this work of art were two American tales which he is probably best known for, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Through his writings, Irving composes two different types of s