ALF LAYLAH WA LAYLAH The Book of the Thousand and One Nights by John Crocker

"I used to wish the Arabian Tales were true: my imagination ran on unknown influences,
magic powers and talismans."

Cardinal Newman Apologia pro Vita Sua (1864)

Your chance to have your say: NB. This is a moderated guestbook. Entries that are not directly related to the site may be rejected. Don't forget, you can always e-mail me. View My Guestbook Sign My Guestbook View the old Arabian Nights Guestbook "Peace!" shall be the word on the part of a merciful Lord. (Qur'an 36:58)

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King Shahriyar had become disgruntled with the unfaithfulness of women, and vowed to have a new wife each night. Each was to be executed the following morning.

Shahrazad, when her turn came, enacted a clever plan. Each night her sister Dunyzad would come into their room and request a story. The King became so entranced by Shahrazad's stories that he would long to hear the conclusion of each one; and night after night Shahrazad would leave him in suspense, thus earning herself a further stay of execution.

A Taste of Nocturnal Delight The stories of Aladdin, Sindbad the Sailor, Shahrazad and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves are among the most famous tales ever told, but where did they come from? Who first told these tales? ">There are many web sites dealing with various aspects of the Arabian Nights, the most wonderful story collection ever, and several of them contain versions of the text. On top of this, in England the Nights are always available in print - if not in the Burton translation, then in more up-to-date translations. In fact the original 'Grub Street version' from Galland's French edition is also available. I would like to demonstrate on this site that there is far more to the Nights than just a collection of fairy stories for children. In fact, they are not for children at all. A work that has inspired great artists through the centuries from Chaucer via Beckford, the Brontë sisters, Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson to Salman Rushdie in literature alone; other luminaries such as Florence Nightingale, and many other great artists in other fields, must have a tale to tell; and that's not to mention the commercial spin-offs such as Disney's "Aladdin". The cup of wine which she gives him each night contains a sleeping draught - from "Stories from the Arabian Nights" illustrated by Edmund Dulac

My Interest in the Nights

This started when, at about the age of nine, my music-loving grandfather dragged me through the streets of Chester, determined to find an L.P. of Rimsky-Korsakov's great orchestral work Scheherazade. I have loved it ever since, and am deeply indebted to him. It was only a couple of years ago that I decided to explore the original stories and their connection with Aladdin. After finding that the notable English translation was by Sir Richard Francis Burton, I went to Dorchester library [N.B. the original Dorchester, in Dorset] to try and obtain a copy (of the condensed version). The poor librarian had to go downstairs to the basement of the library to find the book, which was not kept on public display. Something, she confided to me, that she didn't like doing. Such is life. Anyhow, I soon discovered why the book was hidden away when I opened it - political correctness had not been thought of in Burton's day, and it seems that he positively enjoyed the unexpurgated bits (and exaggerated them). It is no coincidence that Burton also translated two notably erotic works - the Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana and The Perfumed Garden of the Cheikh Nefzaoui. Despite this, I will always admire his version for his unique use of language and the quaint archaic quality of the vocabulary (a vocabulary that never really existed in English of any period).

*The bismillah at the top of the page is from the introduction to the celebrated Burton translation of the work. The word "lord" is used as a term of respect and in no way implies that the Prophet is the Son of God.

N.B. The information available on this page will be varied on a periodic basis.

The Spelling of Arabic Names The names of the characters can be spelt in such a multiplicity of different ways depending on the particular source used. I have tried to use as many different spellings as possible. T.E. Lawrence of Arabia said "There are some 'scientific systems' of transliteration, helpful to people who know enough Arabic not to need helping, but a washout for the world. I spell my names anyhow, to show what rot the systems are".

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Paul Bishop for help with the film details and the late Khinlyn Fern - for some great ideas; and all those who have given me suggestions by e-mail or by means of the guestbook.

This page is dedicated to the memory of Khinlyn Fern.

Links

Here I link only to those who link to me; so I'd like to thank the following for their patronage (in no particular order):

If you have linked to this page (http://crock11.freeserve.co.uk/arabian.htm) and I have not returned the honour, please let me know by giving me your web site address.

I have dedicated another page specifically for Arabian Nights research links. To view these specially selected sites, please click here.