Diedrich KnickerbockerWashington Irving created a pseudo-historian in an effort to improve his own work and entertain his readers. In 1809, Irving wrote "A History of New York" through a character known as Diedrich Knickerbocker. This was Knickerbocker's first appearance in Irving's work, but it certainly would not be the last. Although he wasn't real, Knickerbocker was a historian who seemed enamored with the people and landscapes of the Northeast, particularly New York. Although Irving never revealed it, some of his characteristics can be found in Knickerbocker's writings. Washington Irving was born in New York in 1783, he always appreciated the land and the people there. Irving was very much against New York becoming and becoming one of the largest and most important cities in the entire world. Irving seemed to prefer the lush foliage and rolling hills of the city, rather than a populated city and a huge harbor. Irving conveys his beliefs through Knickerbocker in "A History of New York", in the essay Irving says "Happy that New Amsterdam could always exist in this state of blissful ignorance and humble simplicity, but alas! The era of childhood is too sweet to last! Cities, like men, grow out of it with time, and are both condemned to transform into the agitation, worries and miseries of the world (Irving 570). believed that his New York would not be the same if given all the exporting and importing power of the East, which was and is not as he wished. Irving also had a fond feeling for them. early Dutch settlers in New York, from Henry Hudson and his men, to stories of Dutch origins in New York. Some of the city's settings and often strange spiritual events that take place in the city. It is certain, the place still continues under the influence of some sorcerer's power, which exercises a spell on the minds of good people, making them walk in a continual reverie. They are given over to all kinds of wonderful beliefs; they are subjects. to trances and visions; and I frequently see strange sights and hear music and voices in the air. The entire neighborhood is full of local tales, haunted places and twilight superstitions. (Irving 1). By using words and descriptions the way he did, Irving makes Knickerbocker's stories more believable because he makes the reader feel like he is actually in the town of Sleepy Hollow. With just a little imagination, he turned a ghost story into a credible account of actions that actually took place, simply by using his fake historian Knickerbocker..