Published in Write & Review

Free post on Medium

Evans’ Rag

Vol 7 Issue 5

La Alhambra Palais was published in 1842, and I don’t expect the writing of it took anywhere near as long as the drawings. Owen Jones said he and Jules Goury spent six months researching and drawing. Ultimately, it took Goury’s life at 31, or rather the cholera did. But if I could render as well, I’d be famous.

My previous account of our trip to Granada, Hordes in the Garden made mention of their book, and included a handful of their gorgeous drawings. This time I’ve added more, but still haven’t touched the entire number. I saw a copy of La Alhambra Palais offered for the low price of $24,000. I have a suspicion the Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale has a copy. If I’m ever in New Haven I may have to look it up.

I feel sure the orange man will come after Yale soon—seeing what he did to Harvard. Jealousy is a hard habit to shake.

There’s a small but interesting bookstore on the Outer Banks in Duck named Island Bookstore, tucked in back of Scarborough Faire.

I bought two books: Notes to John by Joan Didion and I Dream of Joni by Henry Alford. I may not finish either, though for entirely different reasons.

Didion’s book, published after her death, is an emotional slog about witnessing her adopted daughter’s slide into addiction, and Alford’s is pure gossip about Joni Mitchell who deserves far better. I don’t recall Hemingway being taunted in print for keeping too many lovers.

So if you don’t get through the entire text of May’s Medium article, at least you can ogle the drawings and dream of living in a beautiful world.