The Arabian Nights Entertainments
1898
A thousand and one nights of storytelling to survive the sword. This is the legendary frame tale of Scheherazade, the clever queen who marries a murderous sultan and keeps him hanging on her every word by spinning stories so intoxicating he cannot execute her until he hears how they end. What unfolds is an inexhaustible treasure chest of adventure, magic, and mischief: Aladdin's lamp, Ali Baba's forty thieves, Sinbad's seven voyages, the talking roc bird, jinns trapped in copper bottles. But these aren't just fairy tales for children. Behind the enchantment lies sharp social satire, dark humor, and a medieval Islamic world rendered in intimate detail. Andrew Lang's collection gathers the most celebrated tales from Richard Burton's famous translation, offering a gateway into a civilization's dreams. The power here is primal: a woman buying her life with words, and the ancient truth that story is the closest thing we have to magic.
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