Oriental Tales

The oriental tale, set in moonlit seraglios and peopled by mysterious veiled women, powerful sultans, and threatening genii, was a colorfully diverse and highly influential form of writing in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century England. These four entertaining and unusual stories, out of print for years, add to the English literary tradition one of the most versatile forms of prose fiction. The selection includes Almoran and Hamet by John Hawkesworth, a fable of political power; The History of Nourjahad by Frances Sherdian, a sensuous love story of mythic resonance; The History of Charoba by Clara Reeve, a version of an original Arabic tale; and Murad the Unlucky by Maria Edgeworth, a corrective story warning the reader against the temptation to romanticize the Orient.