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The Arabian Nights stories, though numerous, most likely don't total 1001 stories. The title refers to the number of nights that Sheherazade told tales, most of them overlapping, that saved her and her sister from execution.
There is no one-volune edition of the stories. Most one-volume Arabian Nights books have a selection of some of the most well-known tales.
The fullest collection in English translation (by Sir Richard Burton) runs to about twelve volumes of medium-small print, and are sold as a set at apretty hefty price.

2007-02-15 16:48:54 · answer #1 · answered by Palmerpath 7 · 0 0

There are these two books, I think you should read as a good foundation before reading the whole 1001 stories in the 12-volume set, that is,

1. 'Arabian Nights' translated by Sir Richard Burton, published by Random House, USA. (1997). Hardback.
2. 'The Arabian Nights: Volumes 1 & 2" translated by Husain Haddawy, published by Alfred A. Knopf (Everyman's Library). Hardback.

For more information, please visit the web sites below. However, the first one needs more concentration while reading since Sir Richard translated the tales to be classic ones for Victorian readers; its narrative is fantastic, be not afraid to read them. I'm reading it now and it is somewhere around page 200 (I'm sorry I don't have the book nearby).
For the second one, Dr Haddawy is Professor of English and, as far as I know, he's translated the tales for contemporary readers so his translated English prose is more readable since he consulted the Syrian manuscript and headed each tale clearly, that is, First Night, Second Night, Third Night and so on. I'm reading Volume I now and its prose is easier to understand than the one by Sir Richard.

2007-02-15 17:26:35 · answer #2 · answered by Arigato ne 5 · 0 0

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