A dazzling history of magical thinking, exploring the power of the Arabian Nights and its impact in the West, and retelling some of its wondrous tales. Lavishly illustrated throughout.

Wonderful... This is a flying carpet of a book Jeanette Winterson Wide-ranging, erudite, wondrously polymathic exploration of the tales of magic...Warner, too is a beguiling storyteller: her fascination with true knowledge embedded in realms of wonder. -- Iain Finlayson The Times Her mind is as rich and fascinating as the stories themselves, taking us on a magic carpet from Borges and Goethe, to Edward Said and the movies -- Hanif Kureishi Guardian, Books of the Year An epic study of the Arabian Nights...a dissection of the myths in these enduring classics that promises to throw light on the countries from which the stories spring and the lives of women in them -- Mariella Frostrup Observer, Books of the Year This beautifully illustrated book, part retelling, part analysis, is a wonderful companion to some of the most marvellous stories ever told -- Michael Kerrigan The Scotsman

Marina Warner spent her early years in Cairo, and was educated at a convent in Berkshire, and then in Brussels and London, before studying modern languages at Oxford. She is an internationally acclaimed cultural historian, critic, novelist and short story writer. From her early books on the Virgin Mary and Joan of Arc, to her bestselling studies of fairy tales and folk stories, From the Beast to the Blonde and No Go the Bogeyman, her work has explored different figures in myth and fairy tale and the art and literature they have inspired. She lectures widely in Europe, the United States and the Middle East, and is currently Professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies, University of Essex. She was appointed CBE in 2008. www.marinawarner.com