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The crumbling stonework and chipped stucco allow Irving to view the Alhambra as a potent symbol of ‘that mutability which is the irrevocable lot of man and all his works’. The abode of beauty is here, as if it had been inhabited but yesterday…Crucial to this ‘Moslem elysium’ is the fact that it's in ruins (otherwise, presumably, he'd have been writing about contemporary Islamic cities). Irving finds it impossible to contemplate this once favourite abode of Oriental manners without feeling the early associations of Arabian romance, and almost expecting to see the white arm of some mysterious princess beckoning from the balcony or some dark eye sparkling through the lattice. Based on Irving's three-month stay in the palace in 1829, Tales of the Alhambra is presented as a series of traveloguish essays and historical sketches, although they really have more to do with his grand ideas about lost Moorish glories than any realities of medieval Andalusia.

This was the book that cemented the Alhambra's romantic reputation in the minds of the Anglophone reading public. As Irving notes in his Preface, "It was my endeavor scrupulously to depict its half Spanish, half Oriental character its mixture of the heroic, the poetic, and the grotesque to revive the traces of grace and beauty fast fading from its walls to record the regal and chivalrous traditions concerning those who once trod its courts and the whimsical and superstitious legends of the motley race now burrowing among its ruins." A must-read for modern-day visitors to the Alhambra, this edition presents a fascinating selection of Irving's observations and stories. The result is this captivating collection of essays, sketches, and tales. During his sojourn, the writer became increasingly enamored of the grand palace and its wealth of history and folklore.

Irving became a guest at the ancient fortress, where he found himself in the company of several colorful inhabitants. While researching a book on the conquest of Granada, he gained access to the Alhambra Palace, which had fallen into disrepair after years of neglect. Upon his 1829 arrival in Granada, Spain, American author Washington Irving was immediately charmed by the city's beauty and picturesque qualities.