The 1001 Nights

The 1001 Nights is a series of Middle Eastern and South Asian tales brought together under a loose frame story. The framing narrative is of a young woman who manages to delay her execution by telling the king embedded stories, such that he must keep her alive to hear the conclusion of all the tales. The tales themselves are varied, running the gamut from historic to erotic, comedic to tragic. More clearly the case than with the Odyssey, The 1001 Nights is an organic text, a collection of tales brought together by different people over a long period, with the result that there is no single agreed position on the scope and ordering of the text.

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Reference

Lyons, Malcolm, translator. The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights. Vol. 1, Penguin Classics, 2008.