Tales of the Alhambra was written by American author Washington Irving in 1829, during his brief stay at the Alhambra Palace, in Granada. His stay on the Alhambra, the stories he read during his research and the ones he heard from locals inspired him to attempt an homage to this beautiful building, with a collection of legends, essays and verbal sketches about the history of the Alhambra, the monarchs who lived there, its heroes and villains, romances, deaths and triumphs.