Tales from the Arabian Nights - Andrew Lang

About the Book

The beautiful Scheherazade’s royal husband threatens to kill her, so each night she diverts him by weaving wonderful tales of fantastic adventure, leaving each story unfinished so that he spares her life to hear the ending the next night.

This is the background to the Arabian Nights. In this selection made by that master of folklore and fairy-tale Andrew Lang, the reader meets Aladdin with his wonderful lamp, the Enchanted Horse, the Princess Badoura, Sinbad the Sailor, and the great Caliph of Bagdad, Haroun-al-Raschid.

The stories are beautifully illustrated by H.J. Ford.

Tales include:

• The Story of the Merchant and the Genius
• The Story of the First Old Man and of the Hind
• The Story of the Second Old Man and of the Two Black Dogs
• The Story of the Fisherman
• The Story of the Greek King and the Physician Douban
• The Story of the Husband and the Parrot
• The Story of the Vizir who was Punished
• The Story of the Young King of the Black Isles
• The Story of the Three Calenders, Sons of Kings, and of Five Ladies of Bagdad
• The Story of the First Calender, Son of a King
• The Story of the Second Calender, Son of a King
• The Story of the Envious Man and of Him who was Envied
• The Story of the Third Calender, Son of a King
• The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor
• The First Voyage of Sindbad
• The Second Voyage of Sindbad
• The Third Voyage of Sindbad
• The Fourth Voyage of Sindbad
• The Fifth Voyage of Sindbad
• The Sixth Voyage of Sindbad
• The Seventh and Last Voyage
• The Little Hunchback
• The Story of the Barber’s Fifth Brother
• The Story of the Barber’s Sixth Brother
• The Adventures of Prince Camaralzaman and the Princess Badoura
• Noureddin and the Fair Persian
• Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
• The Adventures of Haroun-al-Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad
• The Story of the Blind Baba-Abdalla
• The Story of Sidi-Nouman
• The Story of Ali Cogia, Merchant of Bagdad
• The Enchanted Horse
• The Story of Two Sisters who were Jealous of their Younger Sister

About the Author

Andrew Lang

Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912) was one of the most important collectors of folk and fairy tales, which he edited into twenty volumes, from 'The Blue Book' onwards. Some of his best work is available from Wordsworth, in 'Tales from the Arabian Nights', 'Tales of Troy and Greece', and 'Tales from King Arthur'.

Andrew Lang was born on 31st March 1844 in Selkirk. Lang was the eldest of the eight children of John Lang, town clerk of Selkirk, and his wife, Jane Plenderleath Sellar, daughter of Patrick Sellar, factor to the first duke of Sutherland.

He was educated at Selkirk grammar school, and at the Edinburgh Academy, St Andrews University and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he took a first class in the final classical schools in 1868, becoming a fellow and subsequently honorary fellow of Merton College. He studied Latin and Greek, especially the Homeric texts, and began translations from the French the poetry of François Villon, Pierre de Ronsard, and others. Lang was also writing his own poetry, Ballads and Lyrics of Old France (1872) was his first publication. Other poetry collections include Ballads in Blue China (1880), Helen of Troy (1882), Rhymes à la Mode (1884), Grass of Parnassus (1888), Ban and Arriere Ban (1894), and New Collected Rhymes (1905).

On 17 April 1875 he married Leonora Blanche Alleyne, youngest daughter of C. T. Alleyne of Clifton and Barbados. As a journalist, poet, critic and historian, he soon made a reputation as one of the most able and versatile writers of the day. Many honours were bestowed on Lang during his lifetime, including Doctorates in Classics from the University of St. Andrews and Oxford, in 1885 and 1904 respectively. He was Gilford lecturer at St. Andrews in 1888. In 1911 he was voted President of the Psychical Research Society.

After many years of ill-health, Andrew Lang died on 20 July 1912 in Aberdeen, Scotland. He now rests in the cathedral precincts of St. Andrews. He now is best known as one of the most important collectors of folk and fairy tales. Wordsworth Editions publishes a selection of Lang’s works including Tales of Troy and Greece, Tales from the Arabian Nights and Tales from King Arthur.