The Arabian Nights

Ever since their first arrival in the West three hundred years ago, these stories spun by Scheherazade over a thousand and one nights have cast a spell of enchantment which has never been broken. Collected over centuries from many sources - Persian, Arabic-Islamic, Greek, Indian, and perhaps even Chinese; containing magical transformations and incredible journeys featuring genies and demons, sultans and carpets, they epitomized for Europeans all that was mysterious and exotic about the East. Such was the craze for Oriental tales that a number of stories - 'Aladdin' and 'Ali Baba' among them - more than likely orignated in the West and were later translated into Arabic and back again as part of a complicated but highly fruitful cross-cultural exchange. This unique anthology draws on the best of many English translations, from the earliest to the most recent. Pride of place goes to nineteenth-century Orientalists Richard Burton, Edward W. Lane and John Payne, who combined meticulous scholarship with imaginative enterprise and stylistic artistry, to create works which are classics in their own right. These in turn were translated in to many languages, thus bringing The Arabian Nights to the centre of world literature. Generous space is also given to the fin-de-siecle version of 'Mardrus/Mathers' - arguably the most lively and entertaining of them all. All the most famous stories are here, plus many more, each chosen in a version that best conveys the texture and nuance of the original Arabic. The new Everyman edition has been designed to give something of the flavour of the first editions and includes elegant illustrations by the popular early Victorian engraver and designer, William Harvey.