Ulrich Marzolph
Exploring the Narrative Culture of the Muslim World
The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia
By Ulrich Marzolph and Richard van Leeuwen. With the collaboration of Hassan Wassouf. With fourteen introductory essays by internationally renowned specialists.
Santa Barbara, Calif./Denver/Oxford: Abc-Clio, 2004.
The most comprehensive treatment of the Arabian Nights ever published, with more than 800 detailed encyclopedic entries and a wealth of authoritative essays and resources.
An ancient source of wisdom and perhaps the most pervasive Islamic influence on Western culture, the tales of the Arabian Nights have inspired the imagination of young and old. From fantastic characters to love and magic powers, these tales have stimulated creative works of Western literature, art, architecture, music, and popular culture for many centuries.
The tales of the Arabian Nights have long been the focus of scholarly research and critique, but no English language work has ever attempted an all-embracing treatment of them. The fruit of years of research, The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia is the first comprehensive reference work introducing both the Arabian Nights and the context of their genesis and aftermath in Near Eastern, European, and world culture.
Editors Ulrich Marzolph, one of the world's foremost scholars of Near Eastern narrative culture, and Richard van Leeuwen, a prominent scholar of the Arabian Nights, present detailed, authoritative, and up-to-date research on virtually all aspects of the tales, including major protagonists, themes, important translations, textual history, adaptations, reworkings, works inspired by the Arabian Nights, and aspects of literary theory, and provide extensive bibliographies for each tale. In addition to the 800+ encyclopedic entries and numerous essays, the work introduces research that has not previously been published, making it an invaluable resource to scholars, educators, students, and the general public, as well as an essential addition to the core collection of academic and public libraries.
Title Features
* Includes 800+ encyclopedic entries covering all aspects of the Arabian Nights
* Begins with a fascinating introduction and a variety of essays by renowned scholars, presenting areas of pivotal interest and concern
* Includes a concordance of tales in different editions and translations
* Provides an extensive bibliography, featuring reference works published in English and other languages
Highlights
* Presents the most comprehensive reference work on the subject
* Combines detailed information with impeccable research drawn from available primary sources and previous work
* Written by leading scholars of the Arabian Nights
* Provides up-to-date, accessible information on virtually all aspects of the tales