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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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The Arabian Nights
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(short for The Arabian Nights' Entertainments) The name by which The Thousand and One Nights, an ancient collection of Arabic stories, is more commonly known in English. Both titles refer to the fictional device linking the stories. Shahrazad, or Scheherazade, is married to a king who kills each new bride the morning after consummating the marriage. Shahrazad saves herself by telling him a succession of cliff-hanging tales, so exciting that he cannot resist keeping her alive one more night to hear what comes next. Her repertoire includes *Aladdin, *Ali Baba and *Sindbad the Sailor. The best-known English translation is that of 1885–8 by Richard *Burton.
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