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Washington Irving: Bracebridge Hall, Tales of a Traveller, The Alhambra

Edited by Andrew Myers

“He’s extremely funny and entertaining, the sort of writer who can never get to his point without first navigating the side streets, poking in alleys, browsing at store windows and chatting with passersby, until at last you don’t care about his point anymore, having enjoyed the saunter. And just then the point arrives and you burst out laughing.” — Voice Literary Supplement

Overview
News & Views
Table of Contents

Overview

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This second Library of America volume of Washington Irving brings together for the first time three collections of his stories and sketches. With The Sketch Book, Irving became a world-famous writer, lionized in French and English society and admired by Scott and Byron. His success and his fascination with folklore traditions prompted him to travel in Europe in search of material for further tales. He went on to transform what he found into an array of short pieces that sparkle with humor, adventure, mystery, and romance. Written at the peak of his popularity, these three works reveal Irving’s remarkable diversity, his skill at adapting European legends to his own style, and the talent for entertainment that made him America’s first literary celebrity.

Bracebridge Hall (1822) was published, like The Sketch Book, under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon, and centers on an English manor, its inhabitants, and the tales they tell. Interspersed with witty, evocative sketches of country life among the English nobility is the well-known tale “The Stout Gentleman” and stories based on English, French, and Spanish folklore, vividly recounted with Irving’s inimitable blend of elegance and colloquial dash. They include “Dolph Heyliger,” the story of a New Yorker who encounters a haunted house, ghosts, and a buried treasure, and its famous sequel, “The Storm Ship,” an American version of the legend of the Flying Dutchman.

Tales of a Traveller (1824), written after a year-long stay in Germany, is a pivotal work in Irving’s career, marking his last experiment with fiction before he turned to the writing of history, biography, and adaptation of folktales. Irving felt his new stories to be “some of the best things I have ever written. They may not be as highly finished as some of my former writings, but they are touched off with a freer spirit, and are more true to life.” Arranged in four sections, the miscellany of short fiction reveals elements of comedy and melodrama new to Irving’s work. The first three groups of stories have a European background, while the final five stories, supposedly “found among the papers of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker,” are set in New York and feature pirates and buried treasure.

The Alhambra (1832) was inspired by Irving’s stay during the spring and summer of 1829 at the ancient Moorish palace in Granada, which he called “one of the most remarkable, romantic, and delicious spots in the world.” This rich compendium of tales, deftly interwoven with historical accounts and picturesque sketches, was assembled from Spanish and Moorish folklore, history, guidebooks, and anecdotes of Irving’s experiences among the local residents. The forty-nine pieces range from stories based on Granada’s colorful history to graceful vignettes of its contemporary scene, from romantic descriptions of the local architecture and terrain to medieval tales of the supernatural.

Andrew B. Myers (1920–1998), volume editor, was an Irving scholar, and was professor of English at Fordham University.

This Library of America series edition is printed on acid-free paper and features Smyth-sewn binding, a full cloth cover, and a ribbon marker.

This volume is available for adoption in the Guardian of American Letters Fund.
News & Views

Story of the Week “The Adventure of the Popkins Family,” Washington Irving
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Story of the Week Washington Irving, “The Legend of the Enchanted Soldier”
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Story of the Week Washington Irving, “The Spectre Bridegroom”
April 3, 2019

Story of the Week Washington Irving, “The Bold Dragoon, or the Adventure of My Grandfather”
April 3, 2018

Story of the Week Washington Irving, “The Adventure of the German Student”
March 31, 2016
Table of Contents

Bracebridge Hall; or The Humourists: A Medley by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
The Author
The Hall
The Busy Man
Family Servants
The Widow
The Lovers
Family Reliques
An Old Soldier
The Widow’s Retinue
Ready Money Jack
Bachelors
Wives
Story Telling
The Stout Gentleman
Forest Trees
A Literary Antiquary
The Farm-House
Horsemanship
Love-Symptoms
Falconry
Hawking
St. Mark’s Eve
Gentility
Fortune Telling
Love-Charms
The Library
The Student of Salamanca
English Country Gentlemen
A Bachelor’s Confessions
English Gravity
Gipsies
May-Day Customs
Village Worthies
The Schoolmaster
The School
A Village Politician
The Rookery
May-Day
The Manuscript
Annette Delarbre
Travelling
Popular Superstitions
The Culprit
Family Misfortunes
Lovers’ Troubles
The Historian
The Haunted House
Dolph Heyliger
The Storm-Ship
The Wedding
The Author’s Farewell

Tales of a Traveller, by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
Part I: Strange Stories by a Nervous Gentleman
The Great Unknown
The Hunting Dinner
The Adventure of My Uncle
The Adventure of My Aunt
The Bold Dragoon, or the Adventure of My Grandfather
The Adventure of the German Student
The Adventure of the Mysterious Picture
The Adventure of the Mysterious Stranger
The Story of the Young Italian
Part II: Buckthorne and His Friends
Literary Life
A Literary Dinner
The Club of Queer Fellows
The Poor Devil Author
Notoriety
A Practical Philosopher
Buckthorne, or the Young Man of Great Expectations
Grave Reflections of a Disappointed Man
The Booby Squire
The Strolling Manager
Part III: The Italian Banditti
The Inn at Terracina
The Adventure of the Little Antiquary
The Belated Travellers
The Adventure of the Popkins Family
The Painter’s Adventure
The Story of the Bandit Chieftain
The Story of the Young Robber
The Adventure of the Englishman
Part IV: The Money Diggers
Hell Gate
Kidd the Pirate
The Devil and Tom Walker
Wolfer Webber, or Golden Dreams
The Adventure of the Black Fisherman

The Alhambra
The Journey
Palace of the Alhambra
Important Negotiations—The Author succeeds to the Throne of Boabdil
Inhabitants of the Alhambra
The Hall of Ambassadors
The Jesuits’ Library
Alhamar, the Founder of the Alhambra
Yusef Abul Hagig, the Finisher of the Alhambra
The Mysterious Chambers
Panorama from the Tower of Comares
The Truant
The Balcony
The Adventure of the Mason
The Court of Lions
The Abencerrages
Mementos of Boabdil
Public Fêtes of Granada
Local Traditions
The House of the Weathercock
Legend of the Arabian Astrologer
Visitors to the Alhambra
Relics and Genealogies
The Generalife
Legend of Prince Ahmed al Kamel; or, the Pilgrim of Love
A Ramble Among the Hills
Legend of the Moor’s Legacy
The Tower of Las Infantas
Legend of the Three Beautiful Princesses
Legend of the Rose of Alhambra
The Veteran
The Governor and the Notary
Governor Manco and the Soldier
A Fête in the Alhambra
Legend of the Two Discreet Statues
The Crusade of the Grand Master of Alcántara
Spanish Romance
Legend of Don Munio Sancho De Hinojosa
Poets and Poetry of Moslem Andalus
An Expedition in Quest of a Diploma
The Legend of the Enchanted Soldier
The Author’s Farewell to Granada

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