--- product_id: 50301989 title: "The Arabian Nights: Based on the Text Edited by Muhsin Mahdi" price: "€ 28.20" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/50301989-the-arabian-nights-based-on-the-text-edited-by-muhsin store_origin: PT region: Portugal --- # The Arabian Nights: Based on the Text Edited by Muhsin Mahdi **Price:** € 28.20 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Arabian Nights: Based on the Text Edited by Muhsin Mahdi - **How much does it cost?** € 28.20 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/50301989-the-arabian-nights-based-on-the-text-edited-by-muhsin) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description "The resourceful Shahrazad...has never been more entertaining than in this fresh and vigorous version of this immortal book." Doris Lessing, The Independent The stories of The Arabian Nights(and stories within stories, and stories within stories within stories) are famously told by the Princess Shahrazad, under the threat of death should the king lose interest in her tale. Collected over the centuries from India, Persia, and Arabia, and ranging from adventure fantasies, vivacious erotica, and animal fables, to pointed Sufi tales, these stories provided the daily entertainment of the medieval Islamic world at the height of its glory. No one knows exactly when a given story originated, and many circulated orally for centuries before being written down; but in the process of telling and retelling, they were modified to reflect the general life and customs of the Arab society that adapted them-a distinctive synthesis that marks the cultural and artistic history of Islam. This translation is of the complete text of the Mahdi edition, the definitive Arabic edition of a fourteenth-century Syrian manuscript, which is the oldest surviving version of the tales and considered to be the most authentic. Review: The Original Arabian Nights - This is a translation of the oldest manuscript of the Alf Layla wa-Layla, the Thousand and One Nights. It is a lively tale. The 'thousand and one' nights of the title are the nights during which, as the other reviewers have already written, Shaharazad entertains her murderous husband with a tale with cliff-hanger at the end of each to force him to put off her execution for another day. There never were a thousand and one actual nights in the story - that came partly from the title of the book whose translation from Persian into Arabic more than a thousand years ago formed the nucleus of the book we have now, the Hazar Afsan or 'Thousand Tales'. In this volume are to be found the oldest tales of the Alf Layla wa-Layla. You need to buy the companion The Arabian Nights: Sindbad and other stories: Vol 2 published by Norton in paperback or hardback (it's also available as an Everyman hardback The Arabian Nights: Vol 2 ) to get the old favourites like Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sindbad the Sailor. These tales were added to the Arabian Nights by Galland around 1710-1720. He was the first translator of the Arabian Nights (into French) and added tales from other Arabic sources on his publisher's request. These have been part of the Arabian Nights ever since: even modern Arabic editions all include these tales now! Be aware there are two editions of this book, the Norton and the Everyman edition. I like the Everyman hardback, which is not very expensive but nice to read. I haven't tried the Norton, but it's exactly the same text. I think there's a Norton hardback too. [N.B. These aren't childrens' editions... the behaviour can be adult at times.] If you want to read more about the Alf Layla wa-Layla, you could try Robert Irwin's The Arabian Nights: A Companion (his Penguin Anthology of Classical Arabic Literature is a great intro to classical Arabic literature). Both are quite serious; still more academically, Muhsin Mahdi's "Thousand and One Nights" discusses the history of the book (Mahdi was the editor of the Arabic manuscript this book is based on). Review: Excellent translation with Deckle Edge pages - This translation is fantastic. Highly recommended. Very enjoyable and easy to read compared to other versions. A lot of reviewers are complaining about the quality. This is due to the book being made with deckle edge pages (look it up). This may or may not be to your taste. I'm not that into it personally, but rest assured it is a deliberate choice made by the publisher for aesthetic reasons, not a defect. ## Features - New Store Stock ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 97,803 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 474 in Folklore (Books) 717 in Fiction Anthologies (Books) 1,328 in Fairy Tales (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 850 Reviews | ## Images ![The Arabian Nights: Based on the Text Edited by Muhsin Mahdi - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71eZhUrgMOL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Original Arabian Nights *by J***E on 8 September 2008* This is a translation of the oldest manuscript of the Alf Layla wa-Layla, the Thousand and One Nights. It is a lively tale. The 'thousand and one' nights of the title are the nights during which, as the other reviewers have already written, Shaharazad entertains her murderous husband with a tale with cliff-hanger at the end of each to force him to put off her execution for another day. There never were a thousand and one actual nights in the story - that came partly from the title of the book whose translation from Persian into Arabic more than a thousand years ago formed the nucleus of the book we have now, the Hazar Afsan or 'Thousand Tales'. In this volume are to be found the oldest tales of the Alf Layla wa-Layla. You need to buy the companion The Arabian Nights: Sindbad and other stories: Vol 2 published by Norton in paperback or hardback (it's also available as an Everyman hardback The Arabian Nights: Vol 2 ) to get the old favourites like Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sindbad the Sailor. These tales were added to the Arabian Nights by Galland around 1710-1720. He was the first translator of the Arabian Nights (into French) and added tales from other Arabic sources on his publisher's request. These have been part of the Arabian Nights ever since: even modern Arabic editions all include these tales now! Be aware there are two editions of this book, the Norton and the Everyman edition. I like the Everyman hardback, which is not very expensive but nice to read. I haven't tried the Norton, but it's exactly the same text. I think there's a Norton hardback too. [N.B. These aren't childrens' editions... the behaviour can be adult at times.] If you want to read more about the Alf Layla wa-Layla, you could try Robert Irwin's The Arabian Nights: A Companion (his Penguin Anthology of Classical Arabic Literature is a great intro to classical Arabic literature). Both are quite serious; still more academically, Muhsin Mahdi's "Thousand and One Nights" discusses the history of the book (Mahdi was the editor of the Arabic manuscript this book is based on). ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent translation with Deckle Edge pages *by S***M on 16 February 2022* This translation is fantastic. Highly recommended. Very enjoyable and easy to read compared to other versions. A lot of reviewers are complaining about the quality. This is due to the book being made with deckle edge pages (look it up). This may or may not be to your taste. I'm not that into it personally, but rest assured it is a deliberate choice made by the publisher for aesthetic reasons, not a defect. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A great read *by F***O on 22 September 2020* The book is a classic and this translation is excellent. The only negative is the quality of the book itself. The pages have been cut in a very poor fashion, leaving rough edges. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Arabian Nights - The Monkey and the Monk: An Abridgment of The Journey to the West - The Concise Rāmāyana of Vālmīki --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pt/products/50301989-the-arabian-nights-based-on-the-text-edited-by-muhsin](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/50301989-the-arabian-nights-based-on-the-text-edited-by-muhsin) --- *Product available on Desertcart Portugal* *Store origin: PT* *Last updated: 2026-06-18*