Collected during the Islamic Golden Age of the 8th to 14th century CE, One Thousand and One Nights is a book of short stories. Better known to most English speakers as Arabian Nights, A Retelling is the same collection, but translated to modern English by Hanan al-Shaykh. Stories range in theme and topic, engulfing both real and fictitious characters.
Compiled by Hanan al-Shaykh, the compilation does not contain all of the original stories, but keeps integral ones such as "The Voyage of Sinbad". Shaykh also placed some of her own views in the novel, which are typically spiteful of patriarchy and supportive of feminism.
Hanan al-Shaykh is a Lebanese author and translator that now lives in London. Born in Lebanon, she was segregated because she was a girl, and her father and brother were in complete control of her Shi'a family. Although she was able to attend school, the topics taught there were quite sexist.
