Leila, Book I

Leila, Book I by Edward Bulwer-lytton

During the summer of 1491, as the armies of Ferdinand and Isabel besiege Granada, a mysterious figure named Almamen, reputed an enchanter, walks unnoticed through the city's anxious crowds and enters the Alhambra. In its gardens he encounters the proud warrior-prince Muza Ben Abil Gazan, who challenges his claims to occult knowledge; Almamen denies being an astrologer, insists he answers only to Allah, and warns Muza obliquely against seeking too much personal glory, provoking a threat from the prince before departing to see the king. Almamen finds the young King Boabdil el Chico, called El Zogoybi ("the Unlucky"), brooding in his luxurious chamber, torn between philosophy and the demands of rule, and momentarily soothed by his favorite, the songstress Amine. Boabdil confides his despair: hated by his fierce late father, imprisoned in youth, robbed of his throne by his uncle El Zagal, and now blamed by his own subjects for weakness despite being confined to the Alhambra by their distrust. Muza has urged him to ride out and face the Christians openly. Almamen counsels caution, subtly warning that Muza, beloved by the army, is a dangerous rival should Boabdil die in battle. He speaks of a philosophy of history in which "creed chases creed, race, race," hinting at his conviction that his own people's ancient faith and lineage will ultimately be restored. Boabdil, torn between longing for a friend and suspicion of Almamen's cold counsel, agrees to meet him secretly the next night at a place Almamen names in a whisper, provoking Boabdil's alarm. Leaving the Alhambra, Muza makes his way secretly to a walled garden and, beneath a lattice, calls up to Leila, a young woman of unknown parentage he loves. Leila confesses she knows nothing of her true birth beyond dim memories of a distant desert land and a mother's voice; she has been raised in seclusion, richly provided for by a stern, rarely-seen father, and attended by an aged servant, Ximen. She warns Muza that Ximen has discovered their meetings and warned her that her father would never permit a match with even the loftiest Moorish noble. As Muza vows to overcome any obstacle, a javelin is thrown at him from hiding; Leila flees indoors, and Muza searches the grounds in vain before a disembodied voice warns him that he has been spared only for "a more miserable doom." Leila retreats to her chamber, decorated in a foreign, Egyptian-like splendor unlike the Moorish taste of Granada, and weeps, torn between her love for Muza and the religious gulf she believes separates them. Her father enters, questions her tears, and reveals that he has raised her deliberately in the "science and history" of her people so that she might one day feel their sacred cause; he then commands her, as "daughter of the great Hebrew race," to curse the Moorish oppressors. Leila collapses at his feet begging to be spared, and he furiously casts down his poniard, ordering her to root out any love for a Moorish "infidel" from her heart, even by the knife, before storming out. Descending, this Hebrew — who is Almamen himself in disguise — summons the aged Ximen to a secret cavern hidden behind a rock in his gardens, filled with old arms, scrolls, and mysterious instruments. There he questions Ximen about the numbers of Jews massacred by Moorish kings for their supposed wealth, declaring that he would see the number tripled to justify his vengeance, and expresses his belief that Ferdinand and Isabel, though also to be despised, have promised the Jews rights never granted under Moorish rule. He reveals a new motive for hatred: that Muza has sought to win Leila's love, and confesses to Ximen that his deepest secret — that he is a Jew — must never be discovered, or his own countrymen would tear him apart as an impostor. The narrative then recounts Almamen's history: as a child in Granada he watched his father murdered and cut open by the former king, Muley Abul Hassan, in a search for hidden jewels, and vowed revenge. Carried abroad, he traveled widely, studied magic and science for years in Egypt, and acquired secrets that made him a renowned "santon" or enchanter without revealing his Hebrew birth. Returning to Granada under this false identity, he rose into the confidence of both Muley Hassan (whom he helped bring down) and Boabdil, all while nursing implacable hatred and scheming for the restoration of his people, caring less for religious doctrine than for worldly triumph and vengeance. The next night, Boabdil abruptly summons his vizier Jusef and orders the arrest and imprisonment of Muza in the Vermilion Tower, over the vizier's frightened objections, declaring that as king he need not explain himself. Jusef reluctantly goes to Muza's palace at dawn; Muza, though puzzled and grieved at his king's apparent suspicion, submits without resistance out of loyalty, choosing to leave secretly by a private path so as not to alarm his devoted Zegri captains, who already suspect foul play. Passing through the grove, Muza and Jusef encounter Almamen, whose look of hidden malice Muza notices but ignores. Once Muza is gone, Almamen gloats over the prince's downfall as fitting punishment for a proud, "heathen" lineage that has oppressed the Hebrews, and declares his intent to now turn his schemes toward "the Nazarene" — the Christian besiegers — vowing vengeance "not on one man only, but a whole race."

By Edward Bulwer-lytton · First published 1837 · Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Drama · 6 chapters · 11,701 words

First lines

It was the summer of the year 1491, and the armies of Ferdinand and Isabel invested the city of Granada.

The night was not far advanced; and the moon, which broke through the transparent air of Andalusia, shone calmly over the immense and murmuring encampment of the Spanish foe, and touched with a hazy light the snow- capped summits of the Sierra Nevada, contrasting the verdure and luxuriance which no devastation of man could utterly sweep from the beautiful vale below.

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Romance · Adventure · Fantasy · Middle Ages · Knights · Chivalry · Medieval · Historical Fiction · Literary Fiction · Classic Literature · Victorian Era · English Literature

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