Marina Warner talks to Vincent about her new book, Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights (Chatto & Windus).
The Arabian Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales full of outlandish events, flying carpets, genies and magic of every kind, which swept through Western Europe during the Age of Enlightenment. And as writer Marina Warner explains, one reason for their appeal at that time may be that the stories do not just serve as fantasy, they actually present a critique of the real world -- which in the 18th century was changing at a dizzying rate.
