Before You Begin

Before you begin.

This selection gathers eight brief Arabian Nights tales from Burton's fourth volume, moving through charity, poverty, trust, hidden treasure, courtly song, disguise and sudden reversal.

The visual companion is designed as a guide to the story-world rather than a replacement for the text: faces, places, relationship maps, scenes, recap plates and story medallions help the reader keep track of the many figures and thresholds that pass quickly through these tales.

Read the plates as illuminated notes beside the stories. Some characters stand at the center of a tale; others appear only for a moment, but the edition gives each one a visible place in the world of the book.