Books with author Richard F Burton

Translated from the original Sanskrit by the noted Victorian Orientalist, Sir Richard Burton, these ancient Indian folk tales influenced such later works as 1001 Arabian Nights and Boccaccio's Decameron. As revealing today as they were in their own time, these stories will entertain and delight modern readers while illuminating the life and customs of classical India. This reprint from the 1893 limited edition contains 34 black-and‑white illustrations, including the frontispiece designed especially for that edition.

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This was written by Sir Richard Burton under the pseudonym of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî after his return from Mecca in 1854. It contains references to 19th Century scientific and philosophical concepts. Nonetheless, it is a Sufi text to the core, and one of the few instances of Burton writing in the first person about his belief system, even if it is under the cloak of a different name. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a Kasidah is a classical Arabic or Persian panegyric, which must begin with a reference to a forsaken campground, followed by a lament, and a prayer to ones comrades to halt while the memory of the departed dwellers is invoked. The same rhyme has to run through the entire composition, no matter how long the poem is.

The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights, written by legendary author Richard Burton is widely considered to be one of the greatest classic and historical texts of all time. This great classic will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights is required reading for various courses and curriculums. And for others who simply enjoy reading timeless pieces of classic literature, this gem by Richard Burton is highly recommended. Published by Classic Books International and beautifully produced, The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights would make an ideal gift and it should be a part of everyone's personal library.

Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) was a preeminent British explorer of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. His famed disguised pilgrimage to Mecca in 1853 made his name known. Burton helped demystify this exotic Eastern world to the West. In "Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah", we are gifted with his personal account of his Haj. Full of insightful anthropological observations, Burton describes his encounters with Arab cultures and customs. This exciting tale revolves around his disguising as an Afghan doctor in order to not be noticed in his religious pilgrimage. Burton was more than an explorer, though; he was a translator, soldier, cartographer, and spy. His fascinating character comes through brilliantly in this travel account as we discover the East through the eyes of an outsider. Burton's "Narrative" is as much an adventure story as it is a study in cultural anthropology—a true classic of travel writing that helped define the genre.

A Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah, written in 1855, is British author and explorer Richard Burton's account of his own attempt at a Hajj, or Muslim journey to Mecca. Though not Muslim himself, Burton's years spent in British India as a soldier in the army familiarized him with Muslim customs and behavior. He came up with the idea of making a Hajj while traveling disguised among Sindhi Muslims, and prepared and studied extensively for the trip, even getting circumcised to further prevent discovery. While Burton was not the first non-Muslim to make the journey to Mecca, his account is the most well-known of the time, and it is the work which made him famous. Presented here as two volumes in one, this harrowing true tale will delight fans of Burton and his work. British author, soldier, and adventurer CAPTAIN SIR RICHARD FRANCIS BURTON (1821-1890)was notoriously remembered for his scandalously unexpurgated translations of The Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra, which scandalized and titillated Victorian readers. Other works of his include the translation of classic Hindu stories of magic and romance, Vikram and the Vampire or Tales of Hindu Devilry, journals of his globetrotting exploits through Africa and the Middle East, such as The Lake Regions of Central Africa, and his history on the sword, The Book of the Sword, written out of his love for fencing and weaponry.

The story turns chiefly on a great king named Vikram, the King Arthur of the East, who in pursuance of his promise to a Jogi or Magician, brings to him the Baital (Vampire), who is hanging on a tree. The difficulties King Vikram and his son have in bringing the Vampire into the presence of the Jogi are truly laughable; and on this thread is strung a series of Hindu fairy stories, which contain much interesting information on Indian customs and manners. It also alludes to that state, which induces Hindu devotees to allow themselves to be buried alive, and to appear dead for weeks or months, and then to return to life again; a curious state of mesmeric catalepsy, into which they work themselves by concentrating the mind and abstaining from food - a specimen of which I have given a practical illustration in the Life of Sir Richard Burton.