This was the basis of The Conquest of Granada.Įventually, Irving was given the opportunity to move into rooms at the Alhambra of Granada. With this source material, Irving compiled his chronicle of the conquest of the Emirate of Granada in the 1480s by Isabella I of Castille and Ferdinand II of Aragon. Hoping Spain would provide him with inspiration for a new book, Irving was given access to both the American consul’s library on Spanish history and the Duke of Gor’s collection of medieval manuscripts. His family’s merchant business in New York City had been severely damaged by the War of 1812, and they were no longer able to support his literary career. Irving first came to southern Spain in 1826. Pictured below, both books are a unique look at 19th-century interest in orientalist design. Known as The Alhambra and The Conquest of Granada these books remained so widely read that 30 years after Irving’s death they were re-released in revised editions with cover designs by the well-known female decorative artist Alice C. Two works that came out of Irving’s foreign adventures were histories of medieval Spain during the period when modern day Andalucia was controlled by the Nasrids, the Moorish Muslim Emirate of Granada. Less well known are some of Irving’s works of history or his time spent in Europe as part of the diplomatic corps.

Irving (b.1783-d.1859) was one of the first writers from the newly formed United States to be recognized across Europe and he set the standard for a uniquely American form of fiction writing. Most Americans are familiar with the writer and historian Washington Irving and his well-known legends of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Morse (New York: Putnam, 1892) Helen Farr Sloan Library & Archives. At the time of his birth, the American Revolution was just ending.Above: The Alhambra by Washington Irving, cover design by Alice C. His father William was a Scottish-American merchant, and his mother Sarah Sanders was the daughter of an English clergyman. Washington Irving was born on April 3, 1783, in New York City.

Notable Quote: 'There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse as I have found in travelling in a stage-coach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place.'.

Published Works: A History of New York, The Sketch Book (including the stories Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), Bracebridge Hall, The Alhambra, The Life of George Washington.

Education: Elementary school, law school.

Parents: William Irving and Sarah Sanders.

Also Known As: Dietrich Knickerbocker, Jonathan Oldstyle, and Geoffrey Crayon.

Known For: Father of the American short story, biographer, historian, diplomat.

Washington irving and the alhambra