Khaled: A Tale of Arabia

Khaled; a Tale of Arabia

Cover of first edition
Author F. Marion Crawford
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre Fantasy novel
Publisher Macmillan and Co.
Publication date
1891
Published in English
1891
Media type Print (Hardcover)
Pages 258 p.
ISBN NA

Khaled: A Tale of Arabia is a fantasy novel by F. Marion Crawford. It was first published in hardcover by Macmillan and Co. in 1891. Its importance in the history of fantasy literature was recognized by its reissuing by Ballantine Books as the thirty-ninth volume of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in December, 1971. The Ballantine edition includes an introduction by Lin Carter.

The novel is an oriental romance written in the style of the Arabian Nights.

Plot summary

From the cover blurb of the Ballantine edition: "Khaled is a hardworking, conscientious djinn, a true believer working industriously in the service of Allah. So industriously in fact that he rather oversteps the mark and causes the demise of a certain non-believer, and as a result, is condemned to being human for a while. In the company of a superlatively gorgeous princess, of course.

"She, However, in her own gentle, obedient and docile way (she is after all a true Arabian wife) is as stubborn as a mule..."

Khaled has no soul - but he is offered one chance: if his wife comes to love him, despite his lack of a soul, he will become fully human.

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