The angel with one hundred wings : a tale from the Arabian Nights
/ Daniel Horch.
- 1st ed.
- New York : Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press , 2002.
- 260 p. ; 22 cm.
Drawing inspiration from The Arabian Nights, Horch has penned a luminous first novel. Set in Baghdad during the Caliphate of Harun al-Rashid, this is a tale of the forbidden love between Abulhassan, prince of Persia, and the Caliph's favorite concubine, Schemselnihar. The narrator, a pharmacist, alchemist, and friend of the Caliph, agrees to abet their elopement and fears for his execution. While the story is replete with adventure, betrayal, miraculous escapes, and all the other attributes of a hair-raising thriller, Horch truly excels at portraying ninth-century Baghdad. With exquisite detail and vibrant color, he brings to life the wealth and beauty of the city, the greatest metropolis of its age. The author also infuses the wisdom of the Qur'an, the texts of Islamic mystics, and the alchemical treatises of the day into the narrative.