jhc@mtung.UUCP (Jonathan Clark) (11/21/85)
Any halfway respectable bookstore should have a copy of this. Try the Penguin Classic Books edition. However, finding the version that you remember is rather more difficult. Nobody really agrees on which stories make up the set, and so different editions carry different subsets. For example, the 'Sinbad' stories are popularly included, even though they were (probably) not in the original. If you read a young person's edition then you may find that you quickly become bored with the full translation - it does tend to be full of phrases such as 'O King live for ever' and 'Praise be to Al-lah'. In addition, most editions printed more than ~15 years ago were based on a translation done in the last century by a English gentleman (whose name eludes me), whose work reflected the then current mores. In other words it was heavily bowdlerized. If you are into censoring what your children are exposed to then pre-reading of a modern translation is advised. It can get quite explicit in places (and I do *not* consider phrases such as 'her thighs were like white marble; her breasts were like <fill in your favourite metaphor here>' to be explicit). -- Jonathan Clark [NAC]!mtung!jhc My walk has become rather more silly lately.
ecl@mtgzz.UUCP (e.c.leeper) (11/22/85)
> In addition, most editions printed more than ~15 years ago > were based on a translation done in the last century by a > English gentleman (whose name eludes me), whose work > reflected the then current mores. In other words it was > heavily bowdlerized. I believe that the translation you are referring to is the one by Sir Richard Burton (no, not the actor), and he did *NOT* bowdlerize it--his wife did after his death. She also burnt a lot of his memoirs, notes, etc., because *she* didn't approve of what he said or how he said it. Evelyn C. Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!ecl ****************************************************************************** * Get a Usenetter on the ballot at Confederation! * * Nominate MARK R. LEEPER for Hugo for Best Fan Writer in 1986! * ******************************************************************************
floyd@brl-tgr.ARPA (Floyd C. Wofford ) (11/22/85)
>In addition, most editions printed more than ~15 years ago >were based on a translation done in the last century by a >English gentleman (whose name eludes me), whose work I believe his name was Richard Burton.
jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (11/23/85)
> >In addition, most editions printed more than ~15 years ago > >were based on a translation done in the last century by a > >English gentleman (whose name eludes me), whose work > > I believe his name was Richard Burton. The Burton version is definitely NOT bowdlerized - it runs to several volumes and is intentionally quite explicit. -- jcpatilla Mountain View is paid a diplomatic visit by giant Lunar reptiles that want our hot tubs but can't find any so they leave.
farren@well.UUCP (Mike Farren) (11/24/85)
In article <1433@mtgzz.UUCP>, ecl@mtgzz.UUCP (e.c.leeper) writes: >> In addition, most editions printed more than ~15 years ago >> were based on a translation done in the last century by a >> English gentleman (whose name eludes me), whose work > > I believe that the translation you are referring to is the one by Sir Richard > Burton (no, not the actor), and he did *NOT* bowdlerize it--his wife did after > his death. She also burnt a lot of his memoirs, notes, etc., because *she* > didn't approve of what he said or how he said it. As far as I know, the Burton edition was never bowdlerized, but was the basis for many of the "sanitized" editions available since. A complete set of the Burton Society edition runs to about 20 volumes, and can be had for under $100, if you can find it. I got mine through a discount mail-order outfit (Publisher's Clearing House, I think). This is well worthwhile - these stories are GREAT! -- Mike Farren uucp: {dual, hplabs}!well!farren Fido: Sci-Fido, Fidonode 125/84, (415)655-0667 USnail: 390 Alcatraz Ave., Oakland, CA 94618
mac@uvacs.UUCP (Alex Colvin) (11/25/85)
> I believe that the translation you are referring to is the one by Sir Richard > Burton (no, not the actor), and he did *NOT* bowdlerize it--his wife did after The Burton translation is the [only] one you want!
rs55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Robert E. Schleicher) (11/25/85)
> Any halfway respectable bookstore should have a copy of > this. Try the Penguin Classic Books edition. However, > finding the version that you remember is rather more > difficult. Nobody really agrees on which stories make up > the set, and so different editions carry different subsets. > For example, the 'Sinbad' stories are popularly included, > even though they were (probably) not in the original. > > If you read a young person's edition then you may find that > you quickly become bored with the full translation - it > does tend to be full of phrases such as 'O King live for > ever' and 'Praise be to Al-lah'. > > In addition, most editions printed more than ~15 years ago > were based on a translation done in the last century by a > English gentleman (whose name eludes me), whose work > reflected the then current mores. In other words it was > heavily bowdlerized. If you are into censoring what your > children are exposed to then pre-reading of a modern > translation is advised. It can get quite explicit in places > (and I do *not* consider phrases such as 'her thighs were > like white marble; her breasts were like <fill in your > favourite metaphor here>' to be explicit). > -- > Jonathan Clark > [NAC]!mtung!jhc > > My walk has become rather more silly lately. Is the English gentleman referred to above named Sir Richard Francis Burton? In Philip Jose Farmer's science fiction "Riverworld" series, the main characters are real-life people who are resurrected on a new world called the Riverworld. One of the main characters is Richard Francis Burton, who is described as a 19th century adventurer who, among other things, discovered lake Tanganyika (or some other well-known African lake; and I mean "discovered" in the sense that he was the first European to see it), and also wrote and compiled a translation of the 1001 Arabian Nights. Since the descriptions of all the other major characters seem to be based on historical figures, at least as far as I was able to tell, it would seem that Burton's character was also based on fact. Anyone know more about this? Bob Schleicher ihuxk!rs55611 :
pamp@bcsaic.UUCP (pam pincha) (11/25/85)
In article <632@mtung.UUCP> jhc@mtung.UUCP (Jonathan Clark) writes: >Nobody really agrees on which stories make up >the set, and so different editions carry different subsets. >For example, the 'Sinbad' stories are popularly included, >even though they were (probably) not in the original. > >If you read a young person's edition then you may find that >you quickly become bored with the full translation - it >does tend to be full of phrases such as 'O King live for >ever' and 'Praise be to Al-lah'. > >In addition, most editions printed more than ~15 years ago >were based on a translation done in the last century by a >English gentleman (whose name eludes me), whose work Sir Rchard Burton >reflected the then current mores. In other words it was >heavily bowdlerized. If you are into censoring what your ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Burton WROTE the ORIGINAL translation after spending a considerable amount of time in the Middle East. It was mainly an anthrpological study -- hence the more dry reading (his footnotes are almost more interesting than some of the stories). It was very graphical both sexual and violence wise. (Note Sir Richard was NOT known to write anything to reflect the NORMAL mores of Victorian England. He was a noted rebel when it came to English mores versus what he had studied across the world. I think the story that you ran across was mixed up.) The children's version is a much watered down selections of just a very small amount of the original (which is fouteen volumes and contains several hundred stories). This is why different versions (abridged ones that is)vary. (This is also why ,as is stated below, one should pre-read the versions - especially the original translation collection.) >children are exposed to then pre-reading of a modern >translation is advised. It can get quite explicit in places >(and I do *not* consider phrases such as 'her thighs were >like white marble; her breasts were like <fill in your >favourite metaphor here>' to be explicit). P.M.Pincha-Wagener
seshadri@t12tst.UUCP (Raghavan Seshadri) (12/07/85)
> > In addition, most editions printed more than ~15 years ago > > were based on a translation done in the last century by a > > English gentleman (whose name eludes me), whose work > > reflected the then current mores. In other words it was > > heavily bowdlerized. > > I believe that the translation you are referring to is the one by Sir Richard > Burton (no, not the actor), and he did *NOT* bowdlerize it--his wife did after > his death. She also burnt a lot of his memoirs, notes, etc., because *she* > didn't approve of what he said or how he said it. > An excellent biography of his wife,her total adoration of her husband,her whimsical ways and prudish thinking can be found in the book 'The wilder shores of love' which also details the lives of other victorian women who had links to the middle east like George Sand,Lady Jane Digby el Mezrab and a French woman who was a concubine of the Sultan of Turkey. The author was a woman whose name eludes me right now.A great read. -- Raghu Seshadri