The Arabian Nights, Sir Richard Burton
The Arabian Nights, Sir Richard Burton
List: $15.00 | Sale: $10.50
Club: $7.50

The Arabian Nights

Author: Sir Richard Burton

Narrator: Philip Madoc

Abridged: 3 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Naxos

Published: 02/01/2000

Categories: Fiction, Classic


Synopsis

Though The Arabian Nights are generally known as stories for children, they were originally tales for adults full of adventure, sexuality, violence and the supernatural. They certainly inspired the imagination of Sir Richard Burton, the nineteenth-century explorer, linguist and erotologist who brought all his worldly experience and a superbly expressive prose style to bear on the tales of Sinbad the Seaman and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Scheherazade must keep her king entertained with stories if she is to avoid the promised sentence of death. Philip Madoc’s sonorous performance allows the tales to weave their own enchantment as they have done down the centuries.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Manny on January 15, 2015

Ah, if only I could write like the late Sir Richard Burton! Normally I dislike translations, but to refuse to read The Arabian Nights on those grounds would be like refusing to read the Bible. I love parodying people's styles, and I have tried my utmost to parody Burton convincingly, but I can't do......more

Goodreads review by Anne on April 23, 2022

What the hell did I just read?! These were some crazy stories that don't really resemble the shiny cleaned-up versions of the tales we hear today. Loved it! That's the best part of reading stuff like this - finding out how batshit things were back in the day. So while the stories weren't particularly......more

Goodreads review by Michael on November 17, 2019

Arabian Nights is one of the great literary works of all time but precautions need to be made if you want to read it to your kids. First off, there is a LOT of violence in the stories and a TON of sex. Don't be an idiot like me and start reading an unabridged copy to your kids or you will have to be......more

Goodreads review by Vit on September 20, 2016

When I first read One Thousand and One Nights I was literally put under the book’s spell – charmed, enchanted and bewitched. It isn’t just magic of fairytales. It is first of all magic of the oriental world. And of course I was at once mesmerized with the incredible frame tale of Shahryar and Schehe......more