Published June 2011 350 pages, Paperback 195x125mm, Portrait ISBN-10: 1907429255 ISBN-13: 9781907429255
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First published in book form in 1882, The New Arabian Nights was Stevenson’s first published fiction and is considered by some critics to be his best work. Previously published in magazines between 1877 and 1880, the collection loosely draws on the tales of the 1001 Arabian Nights for inspiration.
There are several batches of linked stories, including the darkly humorous series featuring The Suicide Club, a society composed of members so disillusioned with life that they have devised a ritual whereby one member can be chosen at random to assassinate another. Another sequence features the physically attractive but practically ineffectual Harry Hartley.
Witty, inventive, and imbued with all the narrative skill and force of Stevenson’s better-known work, these stories are a real delight for any lover of fine writing and storytelling.
Robert Louis Stevenson - Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850 into a family of engineers. Stevenson inherited a love of the sea and adventure from his father and grandfather, both respected lighthouse designers and engineers. He devoted much of his short adult life to writing, yet only achieved widespread acceptance as a great writer in relatively recent times. Classics such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped have ensured that Stevenson is today the 25th most translated writer in the world.
Despite persistent ill health, Stevenson travelled widely, often writing while abroad. He died in 1894, from tuberculosis, aged just 44.
Robert Irwin - Robert Irwin is a British historian, novelist, and writer on Arabic literature. He is the author of the acclaimed novel The Arabian Nightmare and numerous works of non-fiction, including The Alhambra.
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