Malcolm C. Lyons is also the translator of the Penguin Classics edition of the complete Arabian Nights. He was Sir Thomas Adams Professor of Arabic at Cambridge University and is a life fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is one of the world's leading experts on classical Arabic literature. Robert Irwin's books include For Lust of Knowing- The Orientalists and Their Enemies, The Middle East in the Middle Ages, The Arabian Nights- A Companion and (as editor) The Penguin Anthology of Classical Arabian Literature. He also introduced and edited the Penguin Classics Arabian Nights.
Instantly appealing (with) headlong narrative drive . . . like a Medieval Fifty Shades of Grey . . . above all, fun * Guardian * This book is an astonishment . . . a profound oddity, but an absolutely intriguing one * Scotland on Sunday * Offers a gateway to a different world of language and ideas, florid, wildly descriptive and are a powerful reminder of the human need for story . . . irresistible * Independent * Superb, a revelation - a real classic of popular literature . . . endlessly diverting and inventive, (giving) a unique insight into a now-lost elegant, courtly and tolerant Arab world -- William Dalrymple * Sunday Times *