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Throughout history, the landscape and folktales of Westchester County have served as a rich source of literary inspiration. Many authors have called Westchester home, and it’s only right to honor those who set the scene. Here are four famous writers who once resided in the region, helped shaped the history of our towns and villages, and inspired future generations of authors.
James Fenimore Cooper
(1789-1851)
James Fenimore Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey. Throughout his 61 years, he became well-known as an American writer focused on colonial and Indigenous characters. He’s most famous for his five-novel saga, The Leatherstocking Tales, which follow the story of frontiersmen in the 18th century who are involved in conflict between Native Americans, English, and French. His personal story began in Westchester in 1811 when he married Susan Augusta de Lancey in Mamaroneck at the age of 21. His writing ventures continued in Scarsdale where he wrote The Spy, a Revolutionary War thriller, in 1821. The novel became the first bestseller by an American in the States and abroad and was inspired by his family friend John Jay. It’s believed to have been based off of John Jay’s family home The Locusts, located in Rye. If you’re looking for a piece of Cooper’s legacy that still remains today, his two-story Mamaroneck home stands on Post Road as an Italian restaurant.
Books: The Leatherstocking Tales & The Spy
John Cheever
(1912-1982)
Dubbed “the Chekhov of the suburbs,” John Cheever’s short stories and novels were mainly set in the Upper East Side, Westchester, New England, Massachusetts, and Rome. The now-famous author won his first short story contest sponsored by the Boston Herald when he was attending day school. When he was 67, his compilation of short stories, The Stories of John Cheever, earned him the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and a National Book Critics Circle award in 1979. Nearing his death — six weeks beforehand to be exact — Cheever was honored with the National Medal for Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Cheever was raised in Quincy, Massachusetts and later split his time between his hometown and Manhattan, Saratoga, and Lake George. Once his story Buffalo was picked up by The New Yorker in 1935, he began routinely publishing and gained national recognition.
Cheever purchased a stately Dutch Colonial farmhouse in Ossining near the Hudson in 1961. In March 1964, Cheever was featured on the cover of Time magazine, which was accompanied by a profile of him titled “Ovid in Ossining.” Cheever struggled with alcoholism and passed in 1982. In his lifetime, he published five novels, nine short stories (two posthumously), and four collections (published posthumously). When Cheever passed, flags in Ossining were lowered to half-staff for 10 days.
Books: The Stories of John Cheever & The Wapshot Chronicle
Richard Yates
(1926-1992)
The novelist Richard Yates was born in Yonkers in February 1926. When he was three years old, his parents divorced, and Yates spent his childhood bouncing around different towns. His passion for journalism and writing began at the Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut. After serving in World War II, Yates found his way back to New York City in 1946. The author’s most famous work was his first novel, Revolutionary Road, which was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1962 alongside three well-known works: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Franny and Zoey by J.D. Salinger, and the winner, The Moviegoer by Walker Percy.
Books: Revolutionary Road & The Easter Parade
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Washington Irving
(1783-1859)
Some of Westchester’s most famous stories, namely The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, come from Washington Irving, a household name in the county. The American short story author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat was born and raised in Manhattan with his 10 siblings. Washington was named after George Washington, whom he later completed a biography for months before his death.
Irving used the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon throughout his literary career, most notably for his collection of essays, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. This book was published in 1819 and featured 34 essays and short stories, including his best-known works, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle.
Irving’s family shipped him north to Tarrytown to stay with his friend after an outbreak of yellow fever in 1798. In Tarrytown, Irving fell in love with the sprawling landscape and folktales of Sleepy Hollow (named Northern Tarrytown at the time) and the Catskills. Irving spent 17 years abroad and returned to New York in 1832. Three years later, the famous author purchased what was noted as a “neglected cottage” along the Hudson River in Tarrytown. He named the estate “Sunnyside,” and today visitors can book a tour to explore the stately grounds and romantic riverside cottage for themselves.
Books: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow & The Complete Tales of Washington Irving
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