1. Irving W. A History of Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. Khar’kov: OKO, 1992, 607 p. (In Russian)

2. Hedges W. Washington Irving: An American Study 1802–1832. Baltimore: John Hopkins Press; London: Oxford University Press, 1965, 274 p.

3. Irving W. A History of Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. London: John Murray, 1828, 473 p.

4. Irving W. The Sketch Book. New York: Teh Macmillan Company, 1915, 371 p.

5. Niemeyer M. Washington Irving’s “Philip of Pokanoket”. https://books. openedition.org/psn/7318#text (accessed: 12.03.2020).

6. Paul H. The myths that made America. An Introduction to American Studies. Transcript Verlag, Bielefeld, 2014, 450 p.

7. Sizemore M. “Changing by Enchantment:” Temporal Convergence, Early National Comparisons, and Washington Irving’s “Sketchbook”. Studies in American Fiction, 2013, vol. 40, issue 2, pp. 157–183.

Barabanova Yu. M. Historical characters in W. Irving’s “The Sketch Book” and “A History of Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus”: Transatlantic history and American myth

Washington Irving is the first ‘transatlantic’ writer, a creator of American myth which, among other things, engages historical characters into the literary discourse that forms the national identity. While “Teh Sketch Book” (1819), juxtaposing the European and American past (through such figures as King James and Philip of Pokanoket), can be interpreted as a return to European sources of the United States and rediscovery of America for European readers, “A History of Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus” (1828) marks the transition from European history to new (American) time and space. Teh se two books demonstrate Irving’s myth-making method that combines history, literature, and transatlantic connections. Irving’s Columbus becomes a pivotal hero of American Mythos. Difef rent narrative strategies and historical characters give a new dimension to the literary history of American myth.

Keywords: American myth; transatlantic connections; historical characters.