Editing Washington Irving (section)

====Spanish books====
While in Paris, Irving received a letter from [[Alexander Hill Everett]] on January 30, 1826. Everett, recently the American Minister to Spain, urged Irving to join him in Madrid,<ref>Burstein, 191.</ref> noting that a number of manuscripts dealing with the Spanish conquest of the Americas had recently been made public. Irving left for Madrid and enthusiastically began scouring the Spanish archives for colorful material.<ref>Bowers, 22–48.</ref>

[[File:Alhambra view.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|The [[Alhambra]] palace in [[Granada, Spain|Granada]], southern Spain, where Irving briefly resided in 1829, inspired one of his most colorful books.]]With full access to the American consul's massive library of Spanish history, Irving began working on several books at once. The first offspring of this hard work, ''[[A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus]]'', was published in January 1828. The book was popular in the United States and in Europe and would have 175 editions published before the end of the century.<ref>Burstein, 196.</ref> It was also the first project of Irving's to be published with his own name, instead of a pseudonym, on the title page.<ref>Jones, 248.</ref> Irving was invited to stay at the palace of the [[Duke of Gor]], who gave him unfettered access to his library containing many medieval manuscripts.<ref>Jones, 207.</ref>''[[A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada]]'' was published a year later,<ref>Burstein, 212.</ref> followed by ''Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus'' in 1831.<ref>Burstein, 225.</ref>

Irving's writings on Columbus are a mixture of history and fiction, a genre now called romantic history. Irving based them on extensive research in the Spanish archives, but also added imaginative elements aimed at sharpening the story. The first of these works is the source of the durable myth that medieval Europeans [[Myth of the flat Earth|believed the Earth was flat]].<ref>Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians''.  Praeger Paperback, 1997. {{ISBN|0-275-95904-X}}</ref> According to the popular book, Columbus proved the Earth was round.<ref>Loewen, James W. ''Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong''. New York: The New Press, 1999: 59.</ref>

In 1829, Irving was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?year=1829;year-max=1829;smode=advanced;f1-date=1829|access-date=April 7, 2021|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> That same year, he moved into Granada's ancient palace Alhambra, "determined to linger here", he said, "until I get some writings under way connected with the place".<ref>Washington Irving to Peter Irving, Alhambra, June 13, 1829. ''Works'', 23:436</ref> Before he could get any significant writing underway, however, he was notified of his appointment as Secretary to the American Legation in London. Worried he would disappoint friends and family if he refused the position, Irving left Spain for England in July 1829.<ref>Hellman, 208.</ref>