The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 01 (of 10)

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

51252

Title

The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 01 (of 10)

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Richard F. Burton's definitive, uncastrated translation of the Arabian Nights, offering a complete, unvarnished look into Moslem folklore, manners, and customs. This volume blends enchanting fictions with rich ethnographical detail, transporting readers from the deserts of Arabia to the courts of kings.

Summary up to 500 words

In this substantial volume, Richard F. Burton presents his labor of love: a full and complete translation of the great Arabian Nights treasury. The text begins with Burton's foreword, where he defends his work against previous, often censored or abbreviated versions. He argues passionately for the anthropological and ethnographical value of the original material, contrasting his 'unvarnished' approach with earlier translators who degraded the work into mere fairy tales for children. Burton describes the text as a talisman against ennui, transporting the reader from dull surroundings to the luxuriant deserts of Arabia, where the sights, sounds, and customs of Bedouin life come vividly alive. The narrative proper introduces Badr al-Din Hasan, a Wazir of Bassorah, whose son, Ajib, is born to his daughter Sitt al-Husn after a union with a Jinni rather than a mortal father. When Ajib grows up, schoolboys mock him for not knowing his father's name, revealing that the Sultan married his mother to a horse-groom while the Jinni fathered him. Heartbroken, Ajib travels with his grandfather to Damascus. There, he encounters his biological father, Hasan of Bassorah, a cook who has adopted Ajib. The story explores themes of identity, lineage, and the supernatural, as the Wazir seeks his lost nephew and the truth of Ajib's origins. Burton's introduction provides extensive notes on the history of the text, comparing his version to those of Galland, Lane, and Payne, and offering a vivid, sensory description of Arabian life, from the songs of the desert to the customs of the Bedouins. This volume serves as both a literary masterpiece and a comprehensive ethnological record, preserving the authentic spirit of the original Arabic manuscripts.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Folklore
• Fairy Tales