Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights

by W. Heath Robinson

From the Eastern folk tales that make up the vast collection known as THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS certain stories - of Aladdin, Sindbad and Ali Baba - have become everlasting favourites with children and a magical ingredient of Christmas pantomine. First introduced to Europe in the early eighteenth century by the French orientalist, Antione Galland, who translated and bowdlerized the stories to suit contemporary taste, this edition presents the fourteen best-known tales selected from an English text of 1821. The illustrations are reproduced from a larger collection in 1899. William Heath Robinson then at the start of his career, was commissioned with four others and his drawings (much the best) reveal a gentle, romantic charm that has been forgotten in the success of his later, purely comic work.

Genres: Classics, Fairy Tales, Mythology, Fiction, Fantasy

346 pages, Hardcover

First published March 11, 2015

About the author

William Heath Robinson (31 May 1872 - 13 September 1944) was an English cartoonist and illustrator best known for drawings of ridiculously complicated machines for achieving simple objectives.

His brothers, Thomas Heath Robinson and Charles Robinson were also artists.

In the U.K., the term "Heath Robinson" entered the language during the 1914–1918 First World War as a description of any unnecessarily complex and implausible contrivance, much as "Rube Goldberg machines" came to be used in the U.S. from the 1930s onwards as a term for similar efforts. "Heath Robinson contraption" is perhaps more often used in relation to temporary fixes using ingenuity and whatever is to hand, often string and tape, or unlikely cannibalisations. Its continuing popularity was undoubtedly linked to Second World War Britain's shortages and the need to "make do and mend".

Reviews

[Analie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun fact: Princess Jasmine's original name? It was Princess Badroulbadour. I loved reading the original story of Aladdin and other stories from the Arabian Nights. It was intriguing to learn there is no known author as many of these tales were oral traditions told for centuries. However while this volume is published as a "children's classic," I would use discretion about when the material is age-appropriate. Some of the tales can be gruesome.

[John Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is a grown man doing reading Aladdin or the other tales of the Arabian Nights? Well, though these stories have been annexed by children's literature, they are quite good in their own right. Unfortunately, however, what makes the Arabian Nights tales truly great is the frame story: Scheherazade telling stories to save her life. The frame story then adds quality to all the other tales because of the stories told within the tales. It's quite clever. This edition of the Arabian Nights, as well as most editions of the Arabian Nights, don't include or even reference that frame story and it's a shame.

As I said, the stories are rather good on their own. Aladdin, in particular, is hardly anything like the version we are familiar with.

[Mushda Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how this version serves as a Children's classics, but it was a bit of a burden to finish through. I've never read the Arabian night version of Aladdin before so it was interesting to read this perspective.
If you're looking for a light read over a prolonged period of time, this is the way to go.

[Stacy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if it was just this edition I was reading or what but I really didn't enjoy most of these stories. I didn't like the way women were treated or portrayed, and it seemed like a lot of the time people cheated, stole, and lied their way to riches and never had any consequences for it (or at least not permanent ones). Besides that they just didn't hold my interest.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a painful read a loud to me. Aladdin takes up half of the book with tales of Ali Baba and Sinbad filling in the rest. My boys can read the rest on their own if they like. We need to read something else.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was decent. I honestly found the story to be a little dull as far as its plot. I might revisit this book another day.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's just interesting to read these stories that were written so many years ago. They really are from a different time.