Login

 


 
     
Limit to available items
Record:   Prev Next
book jacket
BOOK
Title Knickerbocker : the myth behind New York / Elizabeth L. Bradley
Imprint New Brunswick, N.J. : Rivergate Books, ©2009

LIBRARY / MAP CALL NUMBER STATUS MESSAGE
 Stadsbibl:Slottet vån 4 Geografi och historia  973 engelska    CHECK SHELF  ---
Descript xiii, 191 pages, [16] pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm
Note Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-178) and index
The picture of Knickerbocker -- Inheriting Knickerbocker -- Fashioning a Knickerbocracy -- Knickerbocker in a new century
How Diedrich Knickerbocker, a fictional man of stature, flamboyance and Dutch lineage, shaped the city's identity. The narrator of Washington Irving's A History of New York, Knickerbocker has charmed readers since 1809 with his half-fantastical urban history. The author maintains that the proud Dutchman inspired New Yorkers to assert their own idiosyncratic relationship to the city, and to its history. Knickerbocker was appropriated: for political gain during FDR's presidency, commercial reward for countless businesses and sports promotion for teams like the New York Knicks
Deep within New York's compelling, sprawling history lives an odd, ornery Manhattan native named Diedrich Knickerbocker. The name may be familiar today: his story gave rise to generations of popular tributes--from a beer brand to a basketball team and more--but Knickerbocker himself has been forgotten. In fact, he was New York's first truly homegrown chronicler, and as a descendant of the Dutch settlers, he singlehandedly tried to reclaim the city for the Dutch. Almost singlehandedly, that is. Diedrich Knickerbocker was created in 1809 by a young Washington Irving, who used the character to narrate his classic satire, A History of New York. According to Irving's partisan narrator, everything good and distinctive, proud and powerful, about New York City--from the doughnuts to the twisting streets of lower Manhattan--could be traced back to New Amsterdam. Terrific general interest, cultural history of a city with a rich and lively literary past. First-ever book on the eponymous myth that has informed New York City culture since the early 1800s
Subject Irving, Washington, 1783-1859. History of New York
Irving, Washington, 1783-1859 -- Characters -- Diedrich Knickerbocker
Irving, Washington, 1783-1859 -- Influence
Irving, Washington 1783-1859 A history of New York, from the beginning of the world to the end of the Dutch dynasty
Irving, Washington, 1783-1859.
History of New York (Irving, Washington)
Group identity -- New York (State) -- New York
City and town life -- New York (State) -- New York
Dutch -- New York (State) -- New York -- History
City and town life.
Dutch.
Group identity.
Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.)
Literature.
Manners and customs.
Manhattan (New York, N.Y.) -- Social life and customs
New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs
New York (N.Y.) -- In literature
New York (N.Y.) -- History -- Chronology
New York (State) -- New York
New York (State) -- New York -- Manhattan
Chronologies.
History.
Historia
Classmark 974.7/103
ISBN/ISSN 9780813545165
0813545161
Record:   Prev Next