Tales of the AlhambraThe Alhambra , the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra , is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada in southern Spain , occupying a hilly terrace on the...
is a collection of essays,
verbal sketchesA sketch story, in older usage, is a piece of writing that is generally shorter than a short story, and contains very little, if any, plot. The term was most popularly-used in the late nineteenth century. It is also often referred to simply as 'the sketch.'...
, and stories by
Washington IrvingWashington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
.
Shortly after completing a biography of
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere...
in 1828, Washington Irving traveled from
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
, where he had been staying, to
GranadaGranada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.- Overview :The city of Granada is placed at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, Beiro, Darro and Genil, at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
. At first sight, he described it as "a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen." Irving was preparing a book called
A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada, a history of the years 1478–1492, and was continuing his research on the topic.
Tales of the AlhambraThe Alhambra , the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra , is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada in southern Spain , occupying a hilly terrace on the...
is a collection of essays,
verbal sketchesA sketch story, in older usage, is a piece of writing that is generally shorter than a short story, and contains very little, if any, plot. The term was most popularly-used in the late nineteenth century. It is also often referred to simply as 'the sketch.'...
, and stories by
Washington IrvingWashington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
.
Background
Shortly after completing a biography of
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere...
in 1828, Washington Irving traveled from
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
, where he had been staying, to
GranadaGranada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.- Overview :The city of Granada is placed at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, Beiro, Darro and Genil, at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
. At first sight, he described it as "a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen." Irving was preparing a book called
A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada, a history of the years 1478–1492, and was continuing his research on the topic. He immediately asked the then-governor of the historic
AlhambraThe Alhambra , the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra , is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada in southern Spain , occupying a hilly terrace on the...
Palace as well as the archbishop of Granada for access to the palace, which was granted because of Irving's celebrity status. Aided by a 17-year old guide named Mateo Ximenes, Irving was inspired by his experience to write
Tales of the Alhambra. Throughout his trip, he filled his notebooks and journals with descriptions and observations though he did not believe his writing would ever do it justice. He wrote, "How unworthy is my scribbling of the place." Irving continued to travel through Spain until he was appointed as secretary of legation at the United States Embassy in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, serving under the incoming minister
Louis McLaneLouis McLane was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware, and Baltimore, Maryland. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and a member of the Federalist Party and later the Democratic Party. He served as the U.S. Representative from Delaware, U.S. Senator...
. He arrived in London by late September 1829.
Publication history
Tales of the Alhambra was published in May 1832 in the United States by publishers Lea & Carey and concurrently in England by
Henry ColburnHenry Colburn , British publisher, obtained his earliest experience of book-selling in London at the establishment of W...
. Consisting of a series of essays and short fiction pieces, it was referred to as his "Spanish
Sketch BookThe Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., commonly referred to as The Sketch Book, is a collection of 34 essaysand short stories written by Washington Irving...
" Shortly after the book's publication, Irving returned to New York after a 17-year absence from the United States.
In 1851 Irving wrote an "Author's Revised Edition", also entitled
Tales of the Alhambra.
Legacy and influence
The book was instrumental in reintroducing the Alhambra to Western audiences. A plaque now marks the rooms in which Irving stayed while writing some of his book.
Alexander Pushkin's 1834 tale in verse
The Tale of the Golden CockerelThe Tale of the Golden Cockerel is the last fairy tale in verse by Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin wrote the tale in 1834 and it was first published in literary magazine Biblioteka dlya chteniya in 1835...
is based on two chapters of
Tales of the Alhambra. In turn, the Pushkin poem inspired Vladimir Belsky's libretto for the opera "
The Golden CockerelThe Golden Cockerel is an opera in three acts by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was written by Vladimir Belsky and is based on Alexander Pushkin's 1834 poem The Tale of the Golden Cockerel...
" by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov.