Gerald Brenan

Gerald Brenan was an English writer who spent much of his life in Spain and who has written a number of books about the country and its people.

He was actually born in Malta - in 1894 but was educated in England and later served in the British Army in the First World War where he won medals for bravery.

After the war he lived in Spain for a while in the small village of Yegen, in the Alpujarras. He married an American poetess and lived for a time in a house near Málaga but returned to England during the Spanish Civil War.

During the Second World War he was an Air Raid Warden and a Home Guard. Afterwards he returned to Spain where he lived for the remainder of his life. He died at Alhaurín el Grande, Málaga in 1987.

He wrote several books about Spain including 'The Spanish Labyrinth (1943)' and 'The Face of Spain (1951)' but his best-known work is 'South From Granada (1957)' which is generally regarded as being one of the best travel books about Spain.

Gerald Brenan was awarded a CBE in 1982, and was much honoured in Spain.

 more blogs by Robert Bovington...

"Photographs of Spain"	http://bovingtonphotosofspain.blogspot.com/
"postcards from Spain"	http://bovington-posts.blogspot.com/
"you couldn't make it up!"	http://bovingtonycmitup.blogspot.com/
"a grumpy old man in Spain"	http://grumpybobbov.blogspot.com/
"bits and bobs"	http://bovingtonbitsandblogs.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Expressions"	http://spanishsayingsbovington.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Art"	http://bovingtonspanishart.blogspot.com/
"Books About Spain"	http://bovingtonbooks.blogspot.com/

Washington Irving (1783-1859)

by Robert Bovington

One of the books that all lovers of Spain and its culture should have on their bookshelves is 'Tales of the Alhambra'. The American romantic writer Washington Irving wrote it following an extended stay in Granada.

Whilst in Spain, working for the American Legation, he had spent a brief time in Sevilla before setting out for Granada with a Russian travelling companion in April 1829. On arriving in this beautiful city, he immediately fell under its spell. He had the extraordinary good fortune to spend several months living in the Alhambra. The book is one of the classic travel books. It is a groundbreaking account of his time there including folklore and local gossip about the handsome princes and learned Moors who had lived in the palace during the years of the Moorish Kings' residencies.

Washington Irving

sketch by Robert Bovington

Washington Irving had already achieved success as a writer - he had written 'The History of Christopher Columbus' and 'Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada' before his visit to the Alhambra as well as a number of other works that included biographies and essays. However, he is perhaps best known for his short stories. His most famous being 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' and 'Rip Van Winkle'.

In 1806, he had qualified as a lawyer but writing was his first love and, following his early successes in this field, he was assured of earning a living as an author - so much so that he was the first American author to achieve International fame. Another title attributed to him was 'first American man of letters'.

more blogs by Robert Bovington...

"Photographs of Spain"	http://bovingtonphotosofspain.blogspot.com/
"postcards from Spain"	http://bovington-posts.blogspot.com/
"you couldn't make it up!"	http://bovingtonycmitup.blogspot.com/
"a grumpy old man in Spain"	http://grumpybobbov.blogspot.com/
"bits and bobs"	http://bovingtonbitsandblogs.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Expressions"	http://spanishsayingsbovington.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Art"	http://bovingtonspanishart.blogspot.com/
"Books About Spain"	http://bovingtonbooks.blogspot.com/

Glories of Spain by Charles W. Wood

A Review by Robert Bovington

“Glories of Spain” was published in 1901 and describes the travels and adventures of Charles W. Wood and his friends, on a trip to Spain. 

Despite the book title, the party only visited the east of the country. Nevertheless it is a thoroughly enjoyable read. 

Charles W. Wood thoroughly describes the places he visits – Gerona, Barcelona, Montserrat, Manresa, Lerida, Zaragoza, Tarragona, Poblet, Tortosa and Valencia but, more than that he provides the reader with a thoroughly entertaining dialogue of the people he meets and their stories. And what an interesting bunch! They included former sweethearts Sister Rosalie and Father Anselmo who sacrificed their love for each other for a life in the Church and the hopeful reward of life together in Heaven; Ernesto and his mother; Salvador the Monk who preferred to live in a cave than the monastery at Montserrat and Monseigneur Delormais and his world-wide travels. Then there was the downtrodden night porter and his wife Rose aka the Dragon; Quasimodo and his beautiful music; blind Nerissa and her husband Alphonse; Loretta & her donkeys and more.

The author enthuses over many of the monuments he visits and provides the reader with detailed histories of some of the places.

Surprisingly, Charles W. Wood is not well known. Very little information was to be found about him when I researched using the Internet. His mother, however, was a famous author – Mrs Henry Wood wrote over thirty novels, the most famous being East Lynn.

Charles W. Wood did write other travel books including “Letters from Majorca” and "In the Valley of the Rhone. He should not be confused with another author of the same name – an American who wrote “The Passing of Normalcy”.

In summary, “Glories of Spain” is a delightful travelogue written by an Englishman in the late 1890s.

Robert Bovington

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