The Annotated Arabian Nights

”[A] gorgeous illustrated volume… On display again is the spectacular panoply of storytelling, from tales of magic and wonder to murder mysteries to instructional fables to sexual burlesques. But also contained in this heaping volume is the history of how the tales coalesced, a story every bit as intricate and engrossing as those that enchanted the mad king… Ms. Seale and Mr. Horta have produced a book that is true to the bounty and profusion of this gloriously mongrel collection… balance is everywhere in The Annotated Arabian Nights, which seeks to ‘reclaim’ the tales from the most extreme effects of European imperialism, yet does so without the censorious feeling of exclusion or expulsion.” – Sam Sacks - The Wall Street Journal”[A] 700-page equivalent of Aladdin’s Cave of Wonders… redresses the 19th-century’s Orientalizing bent and occasional racism, while also reminding us that women, and not just Scheherazade, are at the heart of these wonderful stories… This is one present that anybody would be thrilled to open.” – Michael Dirda - The Washington Post”[Q]uietly momentous… new readings can bring to light fresh meanings—and enduring truths. In 2017 Emily Wilson managed that in a new translation of Homer’s ‘Odyssey,’ the first by a woman to be published in English. The new ‘Arabian Nights’—a selection from a complete edition in the making—does the same… [Ms. Seale’s] proficiency in Arabic, English and French, along with her poet’s ear, have yielded a lyrical and accessible new text. Mr. Horta contributes annotations that give context to her choices, and has selected hundreds of illustrations that let readers travel visually through the tales and their history.” – The Economist

Yasmine Seale is a writer who works across poetry, translation, criticism, and visual art.

Paulo Lemos Horta is an associate professor of literature at New York University Abu Dhabi, and the author of Marvellous Thieves: Secret Authors of the Arabian Nights. He lives in Abu Dhabi and Barcelona.