Witty poetic erotic & brutal One Thousand & One Nights are the never-ending stories told by the young Shahrazad under sentence of death to King Shahrayar. Maddened by the discovery of his wifes orgies King Shahrayar believes all women are unfaithful & vows to marry a virgin every night & kill her in the morning. To survive his newest wife Shahrazad spins a web of tales night after night leaving the King in suspense when morning comes thus prolonging her life for another day. Written in Arabic from tales gathered in India Persia & across the great Arab empire these mesmerising stories tell of the real & the supernatural love & marriage power & punishment wealth & poverty & the endless trials & uncertainties of fate. Now adapted by Hanan al-Shaykh the One Thousand & One Nights are revealed in an intoxicating new voice.