The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 01 (of 10) by Burton

Description

The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night by Richard F. Burton is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales known as The Arabian Nights, translated and annotated in the late 19th century. This work comprises a series of enchanting narratives, reflecting deep-rooted cultural and moral themes, with the framing story of Shahrazad, who tells tales to save her life from King Shahryar, who has sworn to execute his brides the morning after their wedding. At the start of the book, the translator Richard F. Burton pays homage to a friend and outlines his journey of translating this rich tapestry of stories, emphasizing the cultural significance of the tales while lamenting that many existing translations are lacking. He introduces the tale of King Shahryar and his brother Shah Zaman, both of whom experience infidelity from their wives, leading to a deep mistrust of women. Their encounters with betrayal fuel Shahryar’s vow to marry a new woman each night only to execute her at dawn, setting the stage for Shahrazad’s clever storytelling designed to delay her fate. This opening portion not only establishes the thematic backdrop of love, betrayal, and the complexities of human relationships but also hints at the narrative structure that will unfold in the subsequent tales. (This is an automatically generated summary.)