Elizabeth Drayson - Lost Paradise: The Story of Granada

LOST
PARADISE

THE STORY OF GRANADA

LOST
PARADISE

THE STORY OF GRANADA

ELIZABETH DRAYSON

AN APOLLO BOOK

www.headofzeus.com

For the people of Granada,
past and present.

An Apollo book

First published in the UK in 2021 by Head of Zeus Ltd

Copyright Elizabeth Drayson, 2021

The moral right of Elizabeth Drayson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN (HB): 978-1788547420

ISBN (E): 978-1788547444

Maps by Jamie Whyte

Colour proofing by DawkinsColour

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The true paradises are the paradises we have lost.

Marcel Proust

To live in the present does not mean that we should be ignorant of the past, when knowledge of it is sought as a means of liberation from the prejudices and misconceptions of today, and as a way of understanding the human mystery, which is the goal of all wisdom.

Miguel ngel Ladero Quesada

Look at the map of Iberia. It is like a taut bulls skin, crisscrossed by the paths left by men and women whose voices and faces we in Spanish America dimly perceive. The message is clear: the identity of Spain is multiple.

Carlos Fuentes

Sincere gratitude is due to the many colleagues and friends both in the United Kingdom and in Spain who have helped and encouraged me in the years taken to research and write this book. I would also like to express my appreciation to the President and Fellows of Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge, for their practical and moral support for my project. In Granada, very special thanks are due to Jos Mara Prez Lled of the Ayuntamiento de Granada, who went beyond the call of duty under COVID restrictions to provide me with many beautiful images and reference books, as well as a wealth of useful information. Sincere thanks also to Estrella Corro Delgado, Secretary to the Most Illustrious Mayor of Granada, for her cheerful assistance. I have visited many libraries, archives and museums to conduct research on the history of Granada, and in particular would like to mention Brbara Jimnez Serrano at the archive of the Alhambra, who welcomed me and made some fascinating material available, as did the archivists and staff of the municipal archives, in particular Eulalia Beltrn Garca whom I thank for her patience and kindness, Silvia Maroto Romero at the Museo Arqueolgico de Granada, the Centro Federico Garca Lorca, the Centro Europeo de las Mujeres Mariana Pineda, the Palacio de los Olvidados, the Museo Sefard, the Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte, the Museo de la Mujer Gitana and the Casa-Museo Manuel de Falla; I am immensely grateful to them all for their indispensable help. I have received great support and encouragement from my colleagues Professor Jos Mara Prez Fernndez and Dra. Mercedes Castillo Ferreira in Granada, and from the students and colleagues at Cambridge and elsewhere who have shown such interest in my project. I must also acknowledge with thanks the help of Syracuse University Press, who kindly granted permission to reprint a poem from the collection The Adam of Two Edens by Mahmoud Darwish.

It has been an enormous pleasure to work with my inimitable agent at A. M. Heath, Bill Hamilton, whose faultless guidance, advice and perceptive understanding of the project have been deeply appreciated. Warmest thanks are due also to my editor, Richard Milbank, ever courteous and thoughtful, who made numerous improvements to the manuscript, and also to Matilda Singer, copy-editor Dan Smith, Jessie Price, Anna Nightingale, Clmence Jacquinet, Anthony Cheetham and the marvellous production team at Head of Zeus who have made this book a reality. Above all, heartfelt gratitude as always to my husband Kiernan Ryan, who is my inspiration, and to my daughter Fiona for her good-humoured encouragement and enthusiasm.