The title says it all, really. Name translations are very old, the whole work and its style are very scholarly, and one gets the sense that here is an English book and retelling that reads like classical Arabic. That, and the stories, which are of the quality and variety that we justifiably associate with the Arabian Nights; recommended, though perhaps only for the strong of reading ability. ( )

The French scholar Galland discovered the Arabic story-book and translated it in the early 1700's. The authors, dates and places of the original tales and their compilation are unknown.[3]

Shahrazad is the beautiful and clever narrator, although most of the characters are sheykhs, jinni's and kings conjuring with each other's frailties.