Irwin finds contemporary lessons in 'Arabian Nights' [4x15min]

Robert Graham Irwin, British historian, novelist and writer on Arabic literature, takes us on a 4-part journey through The Arabian Nights, also known as The Thousand and One Nights. 17 July,"Scheherazade" -- Irwin explores the genius of Scheherazade, the woman who escaped death by turning survival into an art form. 18 July,"Found in Translation": Irwin discovers how the first translation of the stories triggered the West's craze for the Orient, and why the most famous translator of the tales is buried in a tent. 19 July,"Open Sesame": Irwin goes on a magical tour of The Arabian Nights, discovering real spells and modern stories of enchantment along the way, as he encounters genies, amulets, sorceresses, talismen and flying carpets. 20 July,"The Historian and the Storyteller": Irwin finds out whether the stories can tell us anything about the medieval Arabic world they came from, and discovers a long-lost manuscript of the original stories.