Tales from the Arabian Nights is one of the oldest continuously circulated collections of shorts stories in the world. It consists of well-known Arabic folk tales penned during the Islamic Golden Age, including “Aladdin’s Lamp,” “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” “The Three Apples,” “The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor,” and many more. Since their origins they have inspired countless adaptations, most notably the Disney film Aladdin.
The stories begin with one of the earliest female protagonists in literature, Scheherazade, who is set to be executed by an evil Arabian king. The book highlights the incredible adventure stories she tells to the king each night, and how she purposefully ends them on cliffhangers in order to peak his interest and survive the next morning. These exciting tales, with their languid prose and wild adventures, form the basis of the book and its narrative arc.
Accompanying these timeless short stories are stunning, vintage illustrations by renowned artist Milo Winter, only enhancing their glow and adding to their magic.