Spain. Handbook for Spain,

This is the first of three editions written by Richard Ford.

Ford's work on Spain is considered to be one the great works on the country. In his obituary in the Times, commonly attributed to Sir W. Stirling Maxwell, it was said that 'so great a literary achievement had never before been performed under so humble a title'. Richard Ford spent four years in Spain acquiring his extraordinary knowledge of the country by a series of long riding tours (1830-1834), having moved there because of his wife's health. For 3 years he wintered in Seville, moving to the Alhambra in the summer (1830-4). He immersed himself in the Spanish way of life and wrote in such detail that Murray's later editions of this title had to be abridged.