Arabian Nights

Treacherous enchanters, exquisite maidens, intrepid adventurers and exotic lands-the tales of the Arabian Nights have them all. A collection of Middle Eastern folk tales which probably date back to between the tenth and fourteenth centuries, the stories offer a fascinating portrayal of Oriental life, full of Eastern richness and splendor. They were first brought to us at the start of the 18th century by a French professor named Antoine Galland, who was fascinated by the Orient and who translated into French stories from an Arabic book which he had come across. Since then multiple translations and multiple collections of the stories have been published, and the tales have gained popularity across the world. Over time the stories have become woven together within the framework of one tale-that of the beautiful maiden Scheherazade who spins yarns each night in the hope that her new husband, a great sultan, will postpone her execution because of his curiosity about how the stories will end. For this reason the stories were originally titled "The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night" (or ''A Thousand and One Nights"). This edition brings together some of the best known of the stories, and one or two less familiar tales, and combines them with some of the earliest line art illustrations by renowned artists such as George Soper, Rene Bull, John Betten and H. J. Ford, along with enchanting new coloured illustrations by Alida Massari. Let the magic and adventure begin ...