Stories from the Arabian Nights

About this book

A fisherman uncorks a jar and releases a dangerous genie. A storyteller postpones her execution by leaving a tale unfinished. Princes, merchants and wanderers enter worlds where any ordinary encounter may change their fortunes.

Laurence Housman's retellings draw on the rich frame narrative of the Arabian Nights, balancing danger, wit and enchantment. The celebrated illustrated editions give their own visual character to palaces, ships and supernatural visitors. These stories have long histories of translation and adaptation, and Housman's version is one distinctive English telling among many.