"Of the few English travellers in Peru who have, in modern times, given their narratives to the world, none with whom I am acquainted have visited the once splendid and imperial Cuzco..." Only three English 19th century accounts of Cuzco appear to exist before Markham wrote of his visit; the book is mainly devoted to the works of the ancient rulers of Peru. In the 1850's the last of the Inca line left two nieces, "who reside in a house surrounted by alder trees, near the banks of the river Huatanay, and on the site of the gardens of Temple of the Sum..."