Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Arabian Nights
Under the title of The Arabian Nights' Entertainments the stories were soon famous throughout Europe and few books have been translated into so many different languages or given delight to so large a number of readers. From their very first appearance in English they have been accorded a foremost place in the ranks of imaginative literature. They are pure narratives with no object except to please or amuse, yet with a very real value for their portrayal of Oriental life. The reader is transported into a wonderland of marvellous palaces, beautiful women, powerful magicians, and exquisite repasts, and the descriptions captivate the senses with their Eastern richness and splendour. We have been reading them for two hundred years, but the passing of time does not in the least dim their lustre nor dull the pleasure that is to be found in them. Indeed, these tales form one of the few books destined always to be young one of the elemental books to which every succeeding generation returns with fresh enjoyment. Not only is the Arabian Nights one of the world's greatest story books in its power to interest and charm, but it is also one of the greatest in its bulk. In its complete form it would make more than twenty volumes the size of the present one. This Golden Book is a selection of the most attractive of the tales for young readers. Various texts have'been drawn from and combined to form what is believed to be an exception ally clear and vivacious treatment of the narratives. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.