Before he returned,
in 1832, he had finished the greater part of the literary work of his life.
Besides the _Sketch Book_, he had written _Bracebridge Hall_, _Tales of a
Traveller_, _Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus_, _The Conquest of
Granada_, _The Companions of Columbus_, and _The Alhambra_. He had been
secretary of the American legation at Madrid and at London. He had actually
lived in the Alhambra.
Soon after his return, he purchased a home at Tarrytown (now Irvington) in
the Sleepy Hollow district on the Hudson. He named his new home
"Sunnyside." With the exception of four years (1842-1846), when he served
as minister to Spain, Irving lived here, engaged in literary work, for the
remainder of his life. When he died in 1859, he was buried in the Sleepy
Hollow cemetery, near his home.
Long before his death he was known on both sides of the Atlantic as
America's greatest author. Englishmen who visited this country expressed a
desire to see its two wonders, Niagara Falls and Irving. His English
publishers alone paid him over $60,000 for copyright sales of his books in
England. Before he died, he had earned more than $200,000 with his pen.
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