{"product_id":"congress-with-a-crocodile-tahir-shah-9781912383696","title":"Congress With a Crocodile","description":"\u003cp\u003eA titan of the Victorian age, Sir Richard Francis Burton was a scholar, linguist, explorer, and swordsman - and was feted as one of the most important British polymaths ever to have lived.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHaving spent much of his adult life in Arabia, Burton was deeply fascinated not only by the dialects and folklore of the region, but also by lesser known points of culture - of the kind regarded as absolutely scandalous in the moralistic drawing rooms of polite Victorian society.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the last decade of his life, Sir Richard hunkered down, and made a fresh translation of \u003cem\u003eAlf Layla wa Layla\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e The Thousand and One Nights\u003c\/em\u003e - publishing it in the longest and most eccentric edition ever known.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRunning to seventeen weighty volumes and released by private subscriptions so as to circumvent the strict laws of decency, Burton's \u003cem\u003eArabian Nights\u003c\/em\u003e contained thousands of footnotes. So as to make the outrageous subject matter a little less apparent, many were couched in exceedingly abstruse language. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA work of art in their own right, these beguiling annotations offer a dazzling insight into Arabian society, as well into the idiosyncrasies of Sir Richard's own mind.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePreoccupied as he is with \u003cem\u003eThe Arabian Nights\u003c\/em\u003e, bestselling author Tahir Shah set himself the task of distilling a selection of the most intriguing footnotes down into a single mesmerizing volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTaking its title from an especially curious note on the possibility of achieving coital congress with a crocodile, this collection is a work of wonder, and is set to be as greatly appreciated as Burton's monumental translation of \u003cem\u003eThe Thousand and One Nights\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Tahir Shah\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1912383691\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781912383696\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Secretum Mundi Limited\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/12\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 580\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 1.29d","brand":"Tahir Shah","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48153863192831,"sku":"9781912383696","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_9642ed7c-1950-4134-9206-a9dcef22d562.jpg?v=1770786339","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/congress-with-a-crocodile-tahir-shah-9781912383696","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}