jhc@mtung.UUCP (Jonathan Clark) (11/27/85)
This is, hopefully, the final word on the multiple
editions, translations, abridgements, and whatevers of the
great tome "A Thousand and One Nights and a Night".
The edition to which everyone else has been referring is
indeed by Sir Richard Burton, the famous explorer. (He also
turns up as the protagonist in the Riveworld books, along
with Alice Liddell.) The edition which I have in front of
me (courtesy of my esteemed colleague Willie Heck) is
definitely not bowdlerized. Not even slightly. I cannot
confirm Evelyn's story about Burton's wife editing the work
after his death. The edition was published in 1885.
The edition to which *I* was referring was the Lane
edition, published in 1839. This, as I originally said, is
heavily blue-pencilled. Burton has some disparaging
comments to make about the Lane edition in his
foreward. He notes the bowdlerizing (not by name) and
points out that Mr Lane ("that amiable and devoted
Arabist") actually left out half the stories (the
"characteristic" ones, whatever that means). There are some
even nastier comments about various other editions.
Reading the two editions side-by-side is interesting. Whole
sections are paraphrased into a single word ('revelling' is
a popular choice as the word). Anyway, I don't know about a
'modern' unabridged edition, but look for one based on
Burton if possible. To find out if your edition is
unexpurgated, look in the Introduction, before the
story of the Merchant and the Jinni (this part is called
'The tale of King Shahryar and his Brother' in Burton), and
find out what King Shah-Zeman saw his wife doing the first
night he was away. If this is described in glorious detail,
then you have an edition that is faithful to the original.
If it is merely paraphrased (cut in Lane) then your edition
is safe for children, maiden aunts, and so on.
--
Jonathan Clark
[NAC]!mtung!jhc
My walk has become rather more silly lately.