The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights
Click to look inside
Summary
The feel-good place to buy books
The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights by Robert Irwin
Notorious for the delight he took in tweaking the sexual taboos of the Victorian age-as well as the delight he took in the resulting shock of his bashful peers-British adventurer, linguist, and author CAPTAIN SIR RICHARD FRANCIS BURTON (1821-1890) is perhaps best remembered for his unexpurgated translation of the Eastern classic The One Thousand and One Nights, more famously known today as The Arabian Nights. Originating in Persian, Indian, and Arabic sources as far back as the ninth century AD, this collection of bawdy tales-which Burton was the first to bring to English readers in uncensored form-has exerted incalculable influence on modern literature. It represents one of the earliest examples of a framing story, as young Shahrazad, under threat of execution by the King, postpones her death by regaling him with these wildly entertaining stories over the course of 1,001 nights. The stories themselves feature early instances of sexual humor, satire and parody, murder mystery, horror, and even science fiction. Burton's annotated 16-volume collection, as infamous as it is important, was first published between 1885 and 1888, and remains an entertainingly naughty read. Volume I includes: - Burton's introductory forward - Story of King Shahryar and His Brother - Tale of the Trader and the Jinni - Tale of the Wazir and the Sage Duban - Tale of the Prince and the Ogress - Tale of the Ensorcelled Prince - The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad - Tale of the Three Apples - The Reeve's Tale - Tale of the Jewish Doctor - and others.The tales satisfy imaginations famished for wonder. But even more importantly, they stand like fabulous cities against the encroachments of the dark * Standpoint *
These magnificent volumes are the most ambitious and thorough translation into English of the Arabian Nights since the age of Queen Victoria and the British Empire. * Guardian *
This is the most comprehensive collection of the stories to date; freshly gathered and translated from Arabic and French sources, this makes a glorious collectors' edition. * Easy Living *
...this new translation of the world's greatest collection of folk stories restores their colour and verve * The Sunday Times *
Malcolm Lyons, sometime Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge and a life Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, is a specialist in the field of classical Arabic literature.His published works include the biography Saladin, the Politics of the Holy War, The Arabian Epic, Identification and Identity in Classical Arabic Poetry and many articles on Arabic literature.
Ursula Lyons, formerly an Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Cambridge University and, since 1976, an Emeritus Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, specialises in modern Arabic literature.
Robert Irwin is the author of For Lust of Knowing: The Orientalists and Their Enemies, The Middle East in the Middle Ages, The Arabian Nights: A Companion and numerous other specialised studies of Middle Eastern politics, art and mysticism. His novels include The Limits of Vision, The Arabian Nightmare, The Mysteries of Algiers and Satan Wants Me.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780140449389 |
| ISBN 10 | 0140449388 |
| Title | The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights |
| Author | Robert Irwin |
| Series | The Arabian Nights |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2010-02-04 |
| Number of pages | 1008 |
| Prizes | Runner-up for Literary Award (Translation) 2011 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |