Tales from the Arabian Nights (Wordsworth Children's Classics) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853261149 ISBN 13: 9781853261145

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 1993

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

This is a gorgeous introduction for young listeners to fine literature, a vastly different time and culture, and enchanting music. Narrator Toby Stephens is dazzling as he presents three of the best-known tales: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and The Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor. He skillfully renders the stupendous description, cunning adversaries, and wide-ranging emotion as he spins Scheherazade's stories. At times, Stephens's accent has a modern sound that should appeal to a contemporary audience. Both male and female voices are distinct and appropriate to characters ages and situations. Rimsky-Korsakov's stirring music adds vastly to the rich emotion generated by the exotic tales. Listeners of all ages will be enthralled. --S.G.B., AudioFile

About the Author:

Andrew Lang (March, 31, 1844 - July 20, 1912) was a Scottish writer and literary critic who is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. Lang's academic interests extended beyond the literary and he was a noted contributor to the fields of anthropology, folklore, psychical research, history, and classic scholarship, as well as the inspiration for the University of St. Andrew's Andrew Lang Lectures. A prolific author, Lang published more than 100 works during his career, including twelve fairy books, in which he compiled folk and fairy tales from around the world. Lang's Lilac Fairy and Red Fairy books are credited with influencing J. R. R. Tolkien, who commented on the importance of fairy stories in the modern world in his 1939 Andrew Lang Lecture On Fairy-Stories.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 1853261149
• ISBN 13: 9781853261145
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352
• Editor: Lang Andrew