Tales from the Arabian Nights

Magic and marvels await you in Tales from the Arabian Nights, a collection of twenty of the best-known stories from the book that western readers have known for over three centuries as The Arbian Nights. First collected nearly a thousand years ago, these folktales are presented as narratives that crafty Scheharazade tells her husband, Shahryar, the King of Persia, over a thousand-and-one consecutive nights, to pique his interest for the next evening’s entertainment and thereby save her life. Among them are some of the best-known legends of eastern storytelling, including the tales “Sinbad the Sailor,” “Aladdin and His Magic Lamp,” and “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

 

This collection features the classic translation by Sir Richard Burton, published between 1884 and 1886. In these fantastic adventures, humans cower before monstrous Jinni, the incautious are prey to ravenous Ghouls, flying carpets transport riders to magic realms, hidden caverns yield caches of precious jewels and coins, and wishes are magically granted. The just are rewarded, the evil are punished, the poor are enriched, the lost are found, and lovers marry their perfect mates.