Arabian Nights; Volume 4 of 16

The Arabian Nights #4 of 16

by Anonymous, Richard Francis Burton (Translator)

Notorious for the delight he took in tweaking the sexual taboos of the Victorian age-as well as the delight he took in the resulting shock of his bashful peers-British adventurer, linguist, and author CAPTAIN SIR RICHARD FRANCIS BURTON (1821-1890) is perhaps best remembered for his unexpurgated translation of the Eastern classic The One Thousand and One Nights, more famously known today as The Arabian Nights. Originating in Persian, Indian, and Arabic sources as far back as the ninth century AD, this collection of bawdy tales-which Burton was the first to bring to English readers in uncensored form-has exerted incalculable influence on modern literature. It represents one of the earliest examples of a framing story, as young Shahrazad, under threat of execution by the King, postpones her death by regaling him with these wildly entertaining stories over the course of 1,001 nights. The stories themselves feature early instances of sexual humor, satire and parody, murder mystery, horror, and even science fiction. Burton's annotated 16-volume collection, as infamous as it is important, was first published between 1885 and 1888, and remains an entertainingly naughty read. Volume IV • "Ni'amar Bin Al-Rabi'a and Naomi His Slave Girl" • "The Sweep and the Noble Lady" • "The Mock Caliph" • "Ali the Persian" • "The Lover Who Feigned Himself a Thief" • "Caliph Al-Maamum and the Strange Scholar" • "The Man of Al-Yaman and His Six Slave-Girls" • "The Man Who Stole the Dish of Gold Wherein the Dog Ate" • "The Woman Whose Hands Were Cut Off for Giving Alms to the Poor" • "The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream" • "The King's Daughter and the Ape" • and many others.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Poetry, Mythology, Adventure

324 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 800

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Per]

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53254

[Christine]

I read this on Project Gutenberg. The translation of Richard Francis Burton is the result of the use of his talent in the Arabic language and culture to "produce a full, complete, unvarnished and uncastrated copy of the original Arabic texts." There are 16 volumes. Volume 4 starts with night 237, then ends during night 356. This is not a version for children because of the adult themes and literal translations. Sometimes reading this version is challenging because it was translated in the 1800's and by an Englishman, so the language and vocabulary he uses is dated. It could be improved with a more modern literal translation. It's a valuable historic record and I found it worth the read. The stories in this volume first include the continuation of a story of a passionate and forbidden love. This cautionary tale is about a young man who is a king's descendent. He falls instantly in love with a slave girl. Whatever they try to do to stay together in the relationship, seems to be continuously undone by a predetermined fate. Then there about 45 very short stories of wisdom, humor, cautionary tales, love relationships, crime, policing, punishment, fantasy travel, and trickery. Examples of some titles are: The Sweep and the Noble Lady, The Loves of Jubayr Bin Umayr and the Lady Budur, The Mock Caliph, Ali the Persian, Ja'Afar the Barmecide (Barber-Surgeon) and the Bean Seller, Al-Malik Al-Nasir and the Three Chiefs of Police, The Devout Israelite, The Woman Whose Hands were Cut for Giving Alms to the Poor, Wardan the Butcher; His Adventure with the Lady and the Bear, The King's Daughter and the Ape, etc.
These appeared to me to be the kind of stories that are told during the many social interactions in the culture of everyday life and among family members.
Some Settings/Locations: (nights 237-356) [Iraq: Baghdad; Persia (Iran) and Khorasan; Islands of Ebony (Zanzibar); Syria: Damascus, Aleppo; Canary Islands; Egypt: Cairo, Alexandria; Greece; Italy: Genoa; Spain: Andalusia, Toledo; Iran: Tehran; China: Canton (fictional Jinn Land); Armenia]

[Hazel]

This book is fairly uninteresting, though the tales do get better toward the end. Ali Shar and Zumurrud is a fun read. It is one of the longer stories in the book. The last two tales deal with bestiality, as a warning to those offended by such, and as an encourager of those interested in such ribald tales.

[Alek]

well so far I've gotten to only volunes one to seven.

[Jerry Miller]

Difficult reading due to the archaic language, abundant names and footnotes. Interesting to see current themes reflected in ancient tales.