Behind the magic of Aladdin lies a story almost as extraordinary as the tale itself. The genie, the lamp, and the daring hero weren’t born in the pages of ancient manuscripts, but in the mind of Hanna Diyab—a Syrian adventurer whose name Antoine Galland tried to erase. For centuries, the world believed Aladdin came from the Arabian Nights; only in 2015 did we uncover the truth.
Hi again Prateek,and thanks for the wonderful reminder of the Aladdin and Ali Baba stories .
for a few reasons spent some long stays in hospital as a child with side effect of becoming a precocious reader. Tired of the childish hospital library quickly, My father bought me the Galland (English translated) collection. This will keep you quiet for a while, he joked. Only later aware of the separateness of the tales. Never took my kids to see the 1992 Disney version ( a long aversion to Disney in post and late Walt form due to Winnie the Pooh and Mary Poppins movies and the stuff after), and perhaps oddly, thought the early hollywood movies sort of better.
Thank you for so dutifully unpacking the history of this narrative. Will share with my 95 yr old mum who is recuperating in hospital after a fall but relieved she could do her Book Club presentation before (eldest and longest member at more than 50 ans).She will enjoy this so much
And your use of the word Orientalist reminds me of another story from Birmingham UK circa 1974 of a delightful library/sitting room in a Victorian throw back home and owner, if you like that sort of thing. Almost too long ago, but has re surfaced. Let me know.
I haven't read those, but I read some rather interesting commentaries on them, including allegations of plagiarism. It should be noted in the original version that Burton's Aladdin and Ali Baba weren't in the main volumes but rather the supplementary volumes. I absolutely agree that stories from the Arabian Nights beats Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson's fairytales.
It absolutely wasn’t Disney that made Aladdin a household name - at least not in the UK. Aladdin was already well known there from the popularisation of tales from the Arabian Nights and has been performed on stage as a pantomime regularly since 1788.
Wow, I did not know this. Thank you for writing this.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the read!
Behind the magic of Aladdin lies a story almost as extraordinary as the tale itself. The genie, the lamp, and the daring hero weren’t born in the pages of ancient manuscripts, but in the mind of Hanna Diyab—a Syrian adventurer whose name Antoine Galland tried to erase. For centuries, the world believed Aladdin came from the Arabian Nights; only in 2015 did we uncover the truth.
It didn't help the suspicion in that there are quite a number of European variants, such as *Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box*
Hi again Prateek,and thanks for the wonderful reminder of the Aladdin and Ali Baba stories .
for a few reasons spent some long stays in hospital as a child with side effect of becoming a precocious reader. Tired of the childish hospital library quickly, My father bought me the Galland (English translated) collection. This will keep you quiet for a while, he joked. Only later aware of the separateness of the tales. Never took my kids to see the 1992 Disney version ( a long aversion to Disney in post and late Walt form due to Winnie the Pooh and Mary Poppins movies and the stuff after), and perhaps oddly, thought the early hollywood movies sort of better.
Thank you for so dutifully unpacking the history of this narrative. Will share with my 95 yr old mum who is recuperating in hospital after a fall but relieved she could do her Book Club presentation before (eldest and longest member at more than 50 ans).She will enjoy this so much
And your use of the word Orientalist reminds me of another story from Birmingham UK circa 1974 of a delightful library/sitting room in a Victorian throw back home and owner, if you like that sort of thing. Almost too long ago, but has re surfaced. Let me know.
What about Richard Burton and his 19th century editions of The Arabian Nights?
These were some of my favorite stories growing up, even more than those of The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson.
I haven't read those, but I read some rather interesting commentaries on them, including allegations of plagiarism. It should be noted in the original version that Burton's Aladdin and Ali Baba weren't in the main volumes but rather the supplementary volumes. I absolutely agree that stories from the Arabian Nights beats Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson's fairytales.
It absolutely wasn’t Disney that made Aladdin a household name - at least not in the UK. Aladdin was already well known there from the popularisation of tales from the Arabian Nights and has been performed on stage as a pantomime regularly since 1788.