Washington+Irving

=Washington Irving=

Washington Irving is an America author best known for his stories //The Legend of Sleepy Hollow// and //Rip Van Winkle.// One of eleven children, Irving lived from 1783 to 1859. His family was known for their kindness, and Irving loved theatre, art, and music. He was one of the first American authors to achieve literary and commercial success in Europe, encouraging many of his contemporaries, like Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Fenimore Cooper, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allen Poe to take their work overseas as well.

While touring Europe, Irving wrote a series of books that blurred the lines between fiction and non-fiction, taking elements from his historical research to teach about a subject, but adding dramatic plot twists and embellishments to make the stories more exciting. Irving made his way to Spain, writing two books about Spanish history - //The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus// and //Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada//. Later, when he moved to Granada, Irving called the city "a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen."

Irving fell in love with the Alhambra immediately, and because he was so famous he was allowed to live in the palace. During this time he filled notebook after notebook with historical essays about the area, detailed descriptions of the palace and its surroundings, and fictional stories and fairy tales set in Granada. These writings were later published in a book called //Tales of the Alhambra//.