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Journey into the Arabian Nights and read some of the best loved and most enchanting stories of the Middle East in this modern translation. Summary of the Book A long time ago, there lived a king named Shahriar who distrusted all women. He had a ravenous lust, and every night, he picked a new virgin to satiate his needs. Upon fulfilling his need, he would have the girls executed the next day. His desire terrorized the land, and soon, he set his sights on his vizier’s daughter, the beautiful and intelligent Shahrazad. Left with no choice, the vizier sends his daughter to the king, resigning himself to hear of her execution the next day. However, something unexpected happens in the royal chambers. As Shahriar attempts to make love to Shahrazad, she begins telling him a story. Puzzled at this new development, Shahriar listens to her story and doesn’t notice how the hours fly past them. Before he could try to make love to her, the sun rises and Shahrazad stops the story with a cliffhanger. Shahriar resumes his royal duties, but his mind is taxed by thoughts of his new bride and her story. He goes to her once again that night and asks her to resume the story. Shahrazad completes the story, and begins another one. She ends this one with a cliffhanger as well, and thus begins a chain of stories, keeping Shahriar’s ravenous lust at bay. For 1001 nights, she enchants the king with her stories, becoming an indelible part of Middle Eastern mythology and popular culture. This collection brings together some of the best loved stories that Shahrazad is supposed to have told the king, including the story of Alibaba and the Forty Thieves, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp and Sindbad the Sailor. About Sir Richard Burton Sir Richard Burton was a British writer, cartographer, translator, orientalist, poet and linguist. He is known for his translation of many oriental works, including The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana, The Kasidah of Haji Abdu El-Yezdi and The Book of the Sword.