One Thousand and One Nights

Erotic, brutal, witty and poetic, the original One Thousand and One Nights were written in Arabic by Arabian storyteller Shahrazad. Under sentence of death—to be administered by the Sultan King Shahrayar each morning after spending the night with him—Shahrazad weaves a web of tales night after night, leaving the King in suspense when morning comes, thus prolonging her life for another day. Written in Arabic from tales gathered in India, Persia and across the Arab empire, these mesmerising stories tell of the real and the supernatural, love and marriage, power and punishment, wealth and poverty, and the endless trials and uncertainties of fate. Now translated by author Hanan al-Shaykh from tales gathered in Arabia, Europe and Asia over twenty years, this new translation is revealed in an intoxicating new voice: that of Queen Scheherazade herself.