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Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings
The Shahnameh is a fabulous collection of stories and myths from ancient Persia, written into an epic poem by the poet Firdousi in the 10th century. The Shahnameh's place in Persian literature is equivalent to the Arthurian legend in Europe. The tales describe the beginning of the world, and include amazing birds who bring up orphaned Kings, noble horses who kill lions to save their masters, wars between demons and heroes, a feisty princess who goes to war incognito, and above all the great hero Rostam, who tragically kills his own son Sohrab, not knowing his identity.
Elizabeth Laird is passionate about bringing this great epic poem to the children of western cultures, as well as retelling it for Iranian children living in the West.
Elizabeth Laird is passionate about bringing this great epic poem to the children of western cultures, as well as retelling it for Iranian children living in the West.
120 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1010
5 people are currently reading
200 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Laird
214 books197 followersLaird was born in New Zealand in 1943, the fourth of five children. Her father was a ship's surgeon; both he and Laird's mother were Scottish. In 1945, Laird and her family returned to Britain and she grew up in South London, where she was educated at Croydon High School.
When she was eighteen, Laird started teaching at a school in Malaysia. She decided to continue her adventurous life, even though she was bitten by a poisonous snake and went down with typhoid.
After attending the university in Bristol, Laird began teaching English in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She and a friend would hire mules and go into remote areas in the holidays.
After a while at Edinburgh University, Laird worked in India for a summer. During travel, she met her future husband, David McDowall, who she said was very kind to her when she was airsick on a plane. The couple were married in 1975 and have two sons, Angus and William.
Laird has also visited Iraq and Lebanon. She claims to dislike snakes, porridge and being cold but enjoys very dark chocolate, Mozart, reading and playing the violin in the Iraq Symphony Orchestra.
She currently lives in Richmond, London with her husband.
When she was eighteen, Laird started teaching at a school in Malaysia. She decided to continue her adventurous life, even though she was bitten by a poisonous snake and went down with typhoid.
After attending the university in Bristol, Laird began teaching English in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She and a friend would hire mules and go into remote areas in the holidays.
After a while at Edinburgh University, Laird worked in India for a summer. During travel, she met her future husband, David McDowall, who she said was very kind to her when she was airsick on a plane. The couple were married in 1975 and have two sons, Angus and William.
Laird has also visited Iraq and Lebanon. She claims to dislike snakes, porridge and being cold but enjoys very dark chocolate, Mozart, reading and playing the violin in the Iraq Symphony Orchestra.
She currently lives in Richmond, London with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 6, 2022
The Shahnameh is a retelling of the stories in the... Well... Shahnameh. They tell the stories in a short abridged version compared to the actual Shahnameh, with it recapping some of the more well-known and important stories, as a result, it's a lot shorter in length. Furthermore, within the book, they also include illustrations of some of the scenes mentioned within the text.
My thoughts on this are very positive. I found the stories to be quite entertaining in the way it was described and furthermore the illustrations were quite fun to look at. As a result of not reading the actual Shahnameh, I am unaware of how much is left out but considering the NOTABLE difference in length, I would assume a lot.
My thoughts on this are very positive. I found the stories to be quite entertaining in the way it was described and furthermore the illustrations were quite fun to look at. As a result of not reading the actual Shahnameh, I am unaware of how much is left out but considering the NOTABLE difference in length, I would assume a lot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2022
I really enjoyed this version of the Shahnameh retold by Elizabeth Laird, as the stories were simple but interesting and the illustrations were funny but very good. It reminded me a lot of the fables and stories I read as a child, which is why I think I enjoyed it so much. My favorite story was of Zal and Rudabeh, as it was interesting, funny, and with good morals too. I think what made this version so good and funny for me was definitely the illustrations by Shirin Adl; they are super expressive.
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May 6, 2022The Shahnameh is a collection of stories that (should be?) connected together. This version of the Shahnameh has been translated to English and has been greatly shortened and also made it possible to read (who can read poems????).
Many themes such as patriarchy, filial piety, faith, and strength are prevalent throughout the book, but I feel like it was written just to summarise and express the story, not to entertain the reader (just like every other book the teachers made us read).
Overal, quite good.
Many themes such as patriarchy, filial piety, faith, and strength are prevalent throughout the book, but I feel like it was written just to summarise and express the story, not to entertain the reader (just like every other book the teachers made us read).
Overal, quite good.
November 4, 2019
A retelling of the Persian epic poem by Ferdowsi for children or for people like me not raised on the original who were looking for a way to get the basic story & characters sorted while attempting a translation of the original. Illustrations are colorful & the borders are somewhat similar in style to Persian miniatures but the others are oddly childlike in style. Overall a nice introduction to these myths & stories
May 6, 2022
I really enjoyed reading the Shahnameh, its perspectives were different but also very similar to children's stories I was told growing up. The characters and pictures it painted in my mind made me feel like a little child again, I missed reading this type of fiction. I additionally enjoyed studying it in class and making connections with this book to Persian history, as it gave what is seemingly a children's story more depth.
May 6, 2022
A shortened version of the long poem, this book is a lot like the Old Testament. Some of the stories, like the "first-ever person" story, are similar, the very matter of a fact tone is the same in both books, and many of the lessons and themes like greed is bad and love your neighbors as you love yourself to show up in both book. Overall, I think that this book was well translated and simplified and I would recommend it.
May 6, 2022
I liked how the Shahnameh was really similar to the christian biblical stories. While it was really simple (like as simple as a children's picture book), it really highlighted the main morals and "lessons" out of each story. While I understand that this is just a retelling of it, I was really disappointed on how simple/ugly the illustrations were. I wish Mr. Longrie can show his true innate talent and draw out the illustrations for this retelling of the Shahnameh.
May 6, 2022
It's entertaining in some parts while some parts are very convoluted and unrealistic. It has elements that show lessons and reoccurring themes while trying to let the reader enjoy. It's relatively easy to read the book but still has information on culture.
May 6, 2022
Giving it 3 stars because it was really easy to read. However, I felt like the story was quite boring in some parts and I didn't feel that interested in the storyline at any point. Overall, not bad but it might just not be my cup of tea.
May 6, 2022
Shahnameh is a collection of fables about Persian Kings. I really love this book. It was very interesting. My favorite story in this book is the one about Zal and Rudabeh. It was absolutely ridiculous but I still loved it. I also loved the story about the White Demon and the seven trials. 10/10
March 29, 2025
This has been on my TBR for ages. This is a retelling rather than a straight translation, but it’s fascinating and good fun. I’m glad I finally read it.
May 14, 2016
It is a treat to have received a free copy of this great reference book. I always enjoy researching some of the earliest and most complicating books in human history, and this certainly qualifies as a monumental achievement. Abolqasem Ferdowsi was born in a village in Persia, now Iran, in 940 CE, and rose from this humble beginning in scholarly achievement to be funded by the Samanid dynasty that sponsored his writing of this one single book across the entirety of his long adult life. I love the ending in this book, in which the writer finally takes the first-person voice and complains about the indignities he suffered as a dependent of the kings that he spent his life writing about.
After sixty-five years had passed over my head, I toiled ever more diligently and with greater difficulty at my task. I searched out the history of the kings, but my star was a laggard one. Nobles and great men wrote down what I had written without paying me: I watched them from a distance, as if I were a hired servant of theirs. I had nothing from them but their congratulations; my gall bladder was ready to burst with their congratulations! Their purses of hoarded coins remained closed, and my bright heart grew weary at their stinginess. But of the renowned men of my district, Ali Daylami helped me, and that honored man Hosayn Qotayb never asked for my works for nothing. I received food and clothing, silver and gold from him, and it was he who gave me the will to continue. I never had to worry about paying taxes and was able to wrap myself in my quilt in comfort, and when I reached the age of seventy-one, the heavens humbled themselves before my verses…
The above is the translator’s prose version of the multi-volume poem with rhyming couplets at the end of stanzas. The poem ends following the above content with these verses:
I’ve reached the end of this great history
And all the land will fill with talk of me:
I shall not die, these seeds I’ve sown will save
My name and reputation from the grave,
And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim,
When I have gone, my praises and my fame (962).
Right before the above, the last section of the poem describes a rebellion against a king, followed by the violent execution of the rebel that assumed the throne, Mahuy, by the king that stepped in to defend the conquered city, Bizhan. The description of the execution is so brutal it might be fit for a modern black comedy film: “He cut off Mahuy’s hands with his sword and said, ‘These hands have no equal in crime.’ Then he cut off his feet so that he couldn’t move from the spot. Finally, he gave orders that Mahuy’s ears and nose be cut off, and that he be sat on a horse, and left wandering the hot sands till he died of shame” (961). The dark ending with the violent death of a few kings echoes the glum feeling the author was feeling towards the end of the writing process. He has had to fight for his daily bread like a servant instead of being respected for the scholarly and creative work he was doing that was benefiting the nobility that was using his text as propaganda. He might have felt rebellious and might have wanted to stage an uprising of his own to protest the poor treatment that failed to reward him for outstanding work, but the thought of being ripped to pieces for treason probably kept him from inserting still more unflattering images of the kings. The rest of the book includes many negative depictions of despicable acts by the kings of Persian history, and not only propagandistic reviews of their eternal fame and glory. This is a historical epic similar to the Odyssey and both are precursors of the modern European historical novel. The introduction describes the various sources Ferdowsi used to base his accounts of the lives of the kings on factual information.
Overall, I recommend this book to any scholar of Persian history or literature. College students or anybody that wants to read a unique philosophical and fictional exercise would also enjoy browsing some of this book. Though, this book is harder to finish than War and Peace and Anna Karenina combined, so those who enter might not surface on the other side. Reading this book before bedtime if you usually do not enjoy dense reading might help you out too.
After sixty-five years had passed over my head, I toiled ever more diligently and with greater difficulty at my task. I searched out the history of the kings, but my star was a laggard one. Nobles and great men wrote down what I had written without paying me: I watched them from a distance, as if I were a hired servant of theirs. I had nothing from them but their congratulations; my gall bladder was ready to burst with their congratulations! Their purses of hoarded coins remained closed, and my bright heart grew weary at their stinginess. But of the renowned men of my district, Ali Daylami helped me, and that honored man Hosayn Qotayb never asked for my works for nothing. I received food and clothing, silver and gold from him, and it was he who gave me the will to continue. I never had to worry about paying taxes and was able to wrap myself in my quilt in comfort, and when I reached the age of seventy-one, the heavens humbled themselves before my verses…
The above is the translator’s prose version of the multi-volume poem with rhyming couplets at the end of stanzas. The poem ends following the above content with these verses:
I’ve reached the end of this great history
And all the land will fill with talk of me:
I shall not die, these seeds I’ve sown will save
My name and reputation from the grave,
And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim,
When I have gone, my praises and my fame (962).
Right before the above, the last section of the poem describes a rebellion against a king, followed by the violent execution of the rebel that assumed the throne, Mahuy, by the king that stepped in to defend the conquered city, Bizhan. The description of the execution is so brutal it might be fit for a modern black comedy film: “He cut off Mahuy’s hands with his sword and said, ‘These hands have no equal in crime.’ Then he cut off his feet so that he couldn’t move from the spot. Finally, he gave orders that Mahuy’s ears and nose be cut off, and that he be sat on a horse, and left wandering the hot sands till he died of shame” (961). The dark ending with the violent death of a few kings echoes the glum feeling the author was feeling towards the end of the writing process. He has had to fight for his daily bread like a servant instead of being respected for the scholarly and creative work he was doing that was benefiting the nobility that was using his text as propaganda. He might have felt rebellious and might have wanted to stage an uprising of his own to protest the poor treatment that failed to reward him for outstanding work, but the thought of being ripped to pieces for treason probably kept him from inserting still more unflattering images of the kings. The rest of the book includes many negative depictions of despicable acts by the kings of Persian history, and not only propagandistic reviews of their eternal fame and glory. This is a historical epic similar to the Odyssey and both are precursors of the modern European historical novel. The introduction describes the various sources Ferdowsi used to base his accounts of the lives of the kings on factual information.
Overall, I recommend this book to any scholar of Persian history or literature. College students or anybody that wants to read a unique philosophical and fictional exercise would also enjoy browsing some of this book. Though, this book is harder to finish than War and Peace and Anna Karenina combined, so those who enter might not surface on the other side. Reading this book before bedtime if you usually do not enjoy dense reading might help you out too.
September 28, 2014
Stories from Shahnameh (The Persian book of kings) retold by Elizabeth Laird and illustrated by Shirin Adl.
While I dislike the childish style of the artwork, it has a certain charm and the vibrant colours make it appealing. The stories are exciting and easy to read with little codas of rhyming verse which add to the epic nature of the stories.
I loved in particular Zahhak and the loathsome snakes - where demon lord Ahriman puts his claws into the king Zahhak and two snakes sprout from the wounds demanding victims to drain.
Lovely to see Iranian mythology so accessible. A worthy addition to any folklore section.
While I dislike the childish style of the artwork, it has a certain charm and the vibrant colours make it appealing. The stories are exciting and easy to read with little codas of rhyming verse which add to the epic nature of the stories.
I loved in particular Zahhak and the loathsome snakes - where demon lord Ahriman puts his claws into the king Zahhak and two snakes sprout from the wounds demanding victims to drain.
Lovely to see Iranian mythology so accessible. A worthy addition to any folklore section.
February 6, 2017
I was inspired to read this in preparation for Hamid Rahmanian's Feathers of Fire, a puppet show based on Shahnameh. This epic poem is the longest and was also the text which enabled Persians to fortify their language against widespread adoption of Arabic.
It is the first time I encountered the story, and I love the lessons on love, pride, being true to oneself, honor, and service.
I wish I could read it in the original text to capture its poetic beauty!
It is the first time I encountered the story, and I love the lessons on love, pride, being true to oneself, honor, and service.
I wish I could read it in the original text to capture its poetic beauty!
September 29, 2013
A retelling of the classic 10th century Iranian epic poem by the poet Ferdowsi, written over a period of 30 years. This Persian collection of stories is filled with kings, heroes, warriors, demons, and magical animals. The illustrations are exciting stylized, colorful double page chronicles of events, black and white line drawings, and artistic vines bordering the pages with floral designs. The stories vary in length but capture the enticing tales such as Simurgh, the giant bird, the hero Rustam and his son Sohrab, and the wicked king Zahhak. USBBY Outstanding International Book, 2013.
February 20, 2016
Love this book, it's my second time reading this!. The story towards the end was a bit convulted, i must say. I disliked how childish the art looked. Also, that's a pretty sad way to end a book... I almost cried... Poor sohrab and rostam... So similiar to luke skywalker and darth vader. Other than that, the whole " strong, brave warrior" trope got old and cliché in this book fast, so that made it a bit boring.
Overall, this is a really great untroduction for kids to Iranian mythology, i'd recommend it for all ages.
Overall, this is a really great untroduction for kids to Iranian mythology, i'd recommend it for all ages.
December 29, 2014
This is an excellent retelling of the Shahnameh (the Persian Book of Kings) for children by Elizabeth Laird. It covers half of the scope of the Shahnameh up to the death of the hero, Rustam, but as it is written for a child audience it does not show how he died. The book is beautifully presented with each page illustrated by Shirin Adl showing characters and colourful page borders. A delight, and I discovered it in the new Pegi Williams Bookstore in Walkerville, Adelaide.
August 24, 2013
Enjoyed reading this folktale from ancient Persia! The stories will take children's imagination to a different world! I think boys would enjoy this book more than girls as the illustrations, stories and myths are filled with heros, kings, magical animals and demons.
January 13, 2013
A handsomely designed and illustrated collection of wonderfully retold stories from the Perisan epic Shahnameh.
February 22, 2014
Loved these tales of old . My Review
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June 9, 2015after the mention of this book a number of times in The Kite Runner, I thought reading it with my 4th grade son would be fun. boy was I right?! We love the tales of old Iran so far.
August 28, 2016
A true ly excellent book. Having read many Ancient Greek works, reminiscent of Homeric Works. A great insight into Persian literature and culture.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews