Author Description

The oriental tale, set in moonlit seraglios and peopled by mysterious veiled women, powerful sultans, and threatening genii, was a colorfully diverse and highly influential form of writing in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century England. These four entertaining and unusual stories, out of print for years, add to the English literary tradition one of the most versatile forms of prose fiction. The selection includes Almoran and Hamet, a fable of political power; The History of Nourjahad, a sensuous love story of mythic resonance; The History of Charoba, a version of an original Arabic tale; and Murad the Unlucky, a corrective story warning the reader against the temptation to romanticize the Orient.