ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the general character of the Arabian Nights in order to understand the significance of its sudden entrance into the England of Queen Anne. One of the chief elements of charm in the Arabian Nights has been suggested — the sense of mystery and magic. More sentimental than the Arabian Nights, the Persian Tales is also more fantastic. After the Arabian Nights, the Persian Tales, and the Turkish Tales, the best imaginative oriental tales are the English versions of the so-called pseudo-translations. One of the greatest charms of the Persian Tales, as of its better-known rival, lies in the mingling of reality and unreality. More sentimental than the Arabian Nights, the Persian Tales is also more fantastic. In general the Persian Tales resembles the Arabian Nights in the mingling of magic and reality, of strange enchantments and oriental customs almost as strange.
