Read Tales of the Alhambra Washington Irving 9781544035871 Books

Product details Paperback 126 pages Publisher CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 7, 2017) Language English ISBN-10 154403587X

Tales of the Alhambra Washington Irving 9781544035871 Books Reviews

• I read this years ago in Spain, when visiting the exquisite Alhambra Palace in Granada, and the elegant prose and stories were a wonderful complement to my experience.
  
  Washington Irving would be later known as a famous 19th century writer of the Hudson River valley school (in future years, the author of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the Headless Horseman, Rip Van Winkle). As the son of a family of means, the young Irving was sent to the European continent to complete his education and gain worldly polish.
  In the company of a Russian nobleman, he traveled through Spain and obtained permission of the local authorities for them to camp out in the abandoned Alhambra Palace, which they did for months. His local guide enthralled him with the local Moorish legends, and the result was this delightful book.
• I visited the Alhambra fall 2017, and bought this as an accompaniment to the trip. Most of us are familiar with Irving's fiction, such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Nowadays, his non-fiction is much less known and little read. Yet his non-fiction output was much greater in volume than his fiction.
  Because of the happenstance of his diplomatic career focusing more on Spain than any other country, he wrote a lot about Spain. He had an opportunity in 1829, which he eagerly accepted, to live within the walls of the Alhambra, which at that time was occupied only by a few guards and caretakers.
  In this book, Irving writes of his travels in Andalusia and living in the nearly empty Alhambra. As with much of his non-fiction, he adds to his direct observations stories and legends that he picks up from the locals. Some of these date back to the era of the Moors in Andalusia, esp. Granada, and more esp. to the last days of the Kingdom of Granada before it finally falls to the Christian Spanish.
  Irving writes objectively, but non-judgmentally, about the poverty and occasional disorder of life in Andalusia at this period. For example, banditry was still common on the roads between the main cities, and the wise traveler had a money bag available to satisfy a bandit rather than suffer harm for being empty handed when accosted.
  
  Irving loves the stories he picks up about the land and the people, and he tells these stories in a graceful, readable style. His style evidences (and he is early with this) the emerging American style that is plainer and more readable than writing in England at the same period. (This is a comment on style rather than substance, but Irving is very readable.)
  The stories that Irving adds to the descriptions of the place and people are often of a romantic nature, consistent with trends in literature of the period on both sides of the Atlantic
  
  If you are going to visit, or have visited, the Alhambra, this book is a recommendable addition to the experience.
  
  Four stars rather than five not because of Irving, but because of some shortcomings of this edition. The text runs right to the edge of each large (8.5" x 11") page, which is a little inconvenient to the eye. There are no photos, and no maps. This is Irving's text, reprinted as simply as possible, and nothing more.
• Heading to the Alhambra this spring, so I picked up this hoary gem from the early 19th Century by Washington Irving. Consisting of a series of sketches and retellings of stories he'd either heard or read, the Tales are a marvelous if uneven collection that reminded me of Rushdie in places. Irving is an opinionated and occasionally bigoted narrator, but he approaches all his experience with good humor and an appreciation for the Spaniards he meets. He is also remarkably complementary of the Moors, whose Moslem influence he believed balanced the intemperate Christian Spanish world. There is no end of spells, treasures, enchantments, sturdy cavaliers, beautiful princesses, noble peasants and ruined castles. Irving's prose is lively and--except for its rich vocabulary and assumption of a certain literary education--quite modern. Time will tell whether his experience has any lessons for a visit by me two hundred years later.
• A Classic, the classic on the Alhambra. Non fiction, and written a century and a half ago. The author was aiming for a pleasant, interesting and amusing read and he nails it. Irving is important historically because he was one of the first american writers to get favorable notice in Europe and of course the Alhambra is redolent of history too. If you want something "up to date" go to Rick Steves.They sell this book today in Granada for tourists!
• A lovely book, much on sale near the Alhambra and little known elsewhere. It is simply the stories that Washington Irving collected during his stay in the Alhambra. Many of the the tales are about "Moorish" gold (an apprenticeship for American gold) of Moorish armies hidden in a preserved form in the rocks below Granada, tales of the Spaniards' wars with the Moors.
  
  The two races were matched in those days, with the Spanish having military superiority (they won after all) and the Moors cultural and intellectual superiority.
  
  This book illuminates our times; thoroughly recommended.
• Irving is best known for his early American stories like Rip Van Winkle and the Headless Horseman. The Tales of the Alhambra are for older readers. Young audiences receive them well if, at least in your imagination, you can believe the stories when you tell them.
  National Geographic rates the Alhambra as one of the world's top palaces. It is pretty run down, but, with a little imagination it can be seen in its original glory. It is easy to picture Irving camping out with the squatters that overran the place while he listened to their tales around the campfire.
  If you like good folktales, these are some of the best.