The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights

by Anonymous, E. Powys Mathers (Translator), Joseph-Charles Mardrus (Original Translator)

In the tantalising, exuberant and endlessly inventive tales that make up The Arabian Nights, the magical art of storytelling has never been more powerfully demonstrated. Here are some of fiction's most famous characters – Ala al-Din (Aladdin), Ali Baba and Sindbad – in a marvellous world of all-powerful sultans and seductive princesses, incredible jewels and fabulous beasts. Fairy tales, fables, erotica, riddles, bawdy comedy, mystical encounters; The Arabian Nights draws the reader into a labyrinth of stories, which, like Russian dolls, contain ever more stories.

This is a world where anything is possible – young women are changed into dogs, young men turned half to stone, the earth opens and swallows the unwary, spells and potions make dreams come true or bring disaster, and demons and fairies appear from nowhere to determine an individual's destiny by capricious whim.

Contains the following stories:

1) The History of Codadad and His Brothers and of the Princess Deryabar
2) Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
3) Sindbad the Sailor
4) The Story of Prince Assad and the Fairy Perie Nashara
5) Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
6) The Three Calenders
7) The Story of the King of the Ebony Isles
8) The Story of Baba Abdalla
9) The Story of Ganem, the Slave of Love

Genres: Classics, History

239 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1923

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Annaleise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read this because when I was 10 and reading "The Lives of Christopher Chant" by Diana Wynnie Jones, Arabian Nights was what the boys in the boarding school in that story were reading and imagining the fun and adventure.
For the most part, I did enjoy reading this, but it wasn't an easy or relaxing read. Aside from being unfamiliar with the culture and themes, the writing style isn't especially engaging; I'm not sure if that's because it's a translation or not.

Common themes across all the short stories: love, money, rich jewels, secret royalty, beautiful women, terror, wonders, fantastical beasts, islands, foreign countries, travel, trapdoors, rags-to-riches, self-entitlement, clever slaves, death, violence, blood, treasure, ephrites, impossibilities and magic.

I am glad I read it, from an 'it's one of the classics' standpoint, and because the stories are genuinely very interesting. My copy of the book is also beautiful; hard copy, gold leaf, awesome illustrations that really help you imagine the story.

Read this: if you're interested in history, classics, and beautiful books.

[A C · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems stupid to review the Arabian Nights, because it is what it is, with all its wonder and magical story-telling and... problematic tendencies.

So I’ll review this edition instead. It’s a stunning book, beautifully put together with every part of it feeling luxurious, and the illustrations are just lovely. It’s a small selection of stories, but it includes a lot of the stories for which The Arabian Nights is best known. It was a lot of fun to read something which is just pure, distilled storytelling in such a beautiful object.