{"product_id":"the-arabian-nights-9780393331660","title":"The Arabian Nights","description":"The stories of \u003cem\u003eThe Arabian Nights\u003c\/em\u003e (and stories within stories, and stories within stories within stories) are famously told by the Princess Shahrazad, under the threat of death should the king lose interest in her tale. Collected over the centuries from India, Persia, and Arabia, and ranging from adventure fantasies, vivacious erotica, and animal fables, to pointed Sufi tales, these stories provided the daily entertainment of the medieval Islamic world at the height of its glory. No one knows exactly when a given story originated, and many circulated orally for centuries before being written down; but in the process of telling and retelling, they were modified to reflect the general life and customs of the Arab society that adapted them--a distinctive synthesis that marks the cultural and artistic history of Islam. \u003cp\u003eThis translation is of the complete text of the Mahdi edition, the definitive Arabic edition of a fourteenth-century Syrian manuscript, which is the oldest surviving version of the tales and considered to be the most authentic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHaddawy, Husain:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eHusain Haddawy\u003c\/strong\u003e was born and grew up in Baghdad, taught English and comparative literature at various American universities, wrote art criticism, and is now living in retirement in Thailand.","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50616694964498,"sku":"9780393331660","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_46be5bb0-b801-452d-b144-7cd3dc833de5.jpg?v=1732508892","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-arabian-nights-9780393331660","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}