This research monograph breaks new ground in discussing (in English) the impact
of Washington Irving’s presence in Spain and the effect of his writings on Spanish
topics by Spain’s critics and general readership. Spanish critics, scholars and
translators were and are active in assessing Irving’s literary style, scholarly grasp and
cultural influence. This work seeks to examine Irving’s influence and his “discovery”
of Islamic Al-Andalus (Irving was the first American to seriously study Mahomet
(Muhammad),the Koran and write about his findings). Wallhead locates Irving’s
literary and historical researches in the troubled, chaotic post-Napoleonic Spain of
Ferdinand V11 and discusses the earliest Iberian reaction to Irving’s books.

Professor Wallhead’s study includes four parts:

1.The legacy of Irving in today’s Spain: the bibliography, the cultural extension, the
“Washington Irving” industry, tourist and travel literature.

2.Influences and sources: early-mid 19c Spain...Andalusia, Seville and the roots of
the southern “romance”.

3.His Spanish writings. Fiction (Tales of the Alhambra), Documentary and
biographical studies: The Conquest of Granada, Mahomet, and Christopher
Columbus.

4.Conclusions.