A cult classic that "combines the genres of travelogue, fable, dream narrative, novel and confessional into one beguiling whole" ( Publishers Weekly ).The hero and guiding force of this epic fantasy is an insomniac young man who, unable to sleep, guides the reader through the narrow streets of Cairo—a mysterious city full of deceit and trickery.He narrates a complex tangle of dreams and imaginings that describe an ...

**“[A]n electric new translation . . . Each page is adorned with illustrations and photographs from other translations and adaptations of the tales, as well as a wonderfully detailed cascade of notes that illuminate the stories and their settings. . . . The most striking feature of the Arabic tales is their shifting registers—prose, rhymed prose, poetry—and Seale captures the movement between them beautifully.” —Yasmine Al-Sayyad, New YorkerA magnificent and richly illustr...

The author of The Arabian Nightmare spins "a wryly subversive and darkly erotic fable" ( The Sunday Times).The virginal hero of the tale, Prince Orkhan, escapes from the Cage of the Imperial Harem, in which the sons of the sultan are imprisoned, and finds himself hailed by the Harem's concubines as their new Sultan. He is immediately caught up in the excesses and perversions of the Harem. But evil flourishes in a bed of boredom and, after allowing...

An obsessive-compulsive housewife teeters on the edge of madness in this "immensely intelligent and delightful . . . dance of a book" ( The New York Times).The Limits of Vision is Robert Irwin's irrepressibly entertaining and imaginative novel about a young housewife named Marcia and the war she wages against dirt.Set over the course of a single day as Marcia goes about her quotidian activities—having the girls over for coffee, tidying the...

The Alhambra, the 'red fort' on its rocky hill above Granada with its fountained courts and gardens and intricate decoration has long been a byword for exotic and melancholy beauty. In a stimulating new book in the 'Wonders of the World' series Robert Irwin, Arabist and novelist, examines its engrossing and often mysterious history.Built by a bloody and threatened dynasty of Muslim Spain, the Alhambra was preserved as a monument to the triumph of Christianity. Much of what we see i...

This is the story of a story that plays out in real life. Tom is a stock controller. Though management of the shelves kept him busy in the daytime, his nights were frightful. Again and again he dreamt of guns, conjuring tricks, car chases, burials, disinterments, Martian landscapes and Molly. Tom is new to the Story as it was known to the sinister crew who first appeared in The Runes Have Been Cast. They make their reappearance in this new novel... Molly is a hoplophiliac, Quentin is the s...

Mamluks and Crusaders: Men of the Sword and Men of the Pen brings together a series of studies, based mainly on medieval Arabic sources, of Middle Eastern history and society in the late Middle Ages. Several of these studies deal with the confrontation between the Mamluks and the Crusaders. Others deal with aspects of Mamluk society and culture in Egypt and Syria from the 13th to the early 16th centuries. There are articles on such matters as Crusader feudalism and Mamluk iqta', Crusader a...

This literary companion guides the reader into the labyrinth of storytelling within The Arabian Nights.The Arabian Nights has become a synonym for the fabulous and the exotic. Every child is familiar with the stories of Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba. Yet very few people, even specialists in oriental literature, have a clear idea of when the book was written or what exactly it is.Far from being a batch of stories for children,

SCB COPY Seraphita The story revolves round the angelic and mysterious hermaphrodite Seraphita who seems to inspire love in all she meets. One of Balzac's most unusual novels which will appeal to lovers of the mystical and the supernatural Seraphita will be my master stroke. One can create a Goriot every day but one creates a Seraphita only once in a lifetime. Honore de Balzac Never di Balzac approach the very ideal of Beauty as in this book. Theophile Gautier Honore Balzac (1799-1850) stu...

An updated edition of Robert Irwin's popular, practical guide to the basics of investingHow to Get Started in Real Estate Investing presents a step-by-step system that walks you through your first purchase and helps you build on that success. Updated to reflect today's market realities, this second edition is the reliable, hands-on guide every first-time investor needs.

Every night for three years the vengeful King Shahriyar sleeps with a different virgin, executing her the next morning. To end this brutal pattern and to save her own life, the vizier's daughter, Shahrazad, begins to tell the king stories of adventure, love, riches and wonder - tales of mystical lands peopled with princes and hunchbacks, the Angel of Death and magical spirits, tales of the voyages of Sindbad, of Ali Baba outwitting a band of forty thieves and of jinnis trapped in ...

Fully revised and expanded, the classic guide to negotiating every aspect of any real estate transactionReal estate guru Bob Irwin breaks down all the common negotiating "tips and traps" when it comes to buying and selling in real estate. Beginning with the golden rule of real estate--everything is negotiable--the all-new third edition of this easy-to-read guide helps homeowners and investors like you maximize profits by avoiding the common pitfalls standing in the way of getting...