8vo. 545 pp., Arabic text, half-title, modern hard back binding, new end papers, few wormholes on margins, occasional spotting, otherwise in overall good condition, Catholic Press, Beirut, 1890.

Synopsis

Al-Hamadhani (968-1008) was given the nickname ‘‘Badi‘ al-Zaman’’ (The Wonder of the Age) in recognition of his mastery of Arabic prose in the high style. Although he wrote a number of works, including a set of rasa’il (epistles), he is remembered chiefly as the writer who managed to combine different narrative features into an entirely new genre: the maqamah (the name of the genre being derived from the idea of ‘‘standing’’, and thus perhaps contrasted with the institution of majlis, a name that implies an ‘‘evening session’’).