The Magician of Samarkand
Alan Temperley
Hardcover
(Macmillan Children's Books, Jan. 17, 2003)
Anahita is the prettiest, kindest girl in the town in the Orient where she grew up. Everyone loves her but the prince particularly so, though both of them know that a match can never be - she is poor and he is a sultan's son. Anahita's happy life is destroyed when an evil magician moves to the town. He sees her and wants her as his wife, and he will allow nothing to get in his way. So begins a thrilling, magical adventure in which Anahita and her friends battle to overcome the black magic and dark heart of the Magician of Samarkand.