11 h 28 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A stranger offers cream tarts in a London street—and opens the way to a club for people who want to die.
In Robert Louis Stevenson's New Arabian Nights, wonder hides in London squares, Paris alleys and the windy Scottish coast. Prince Florizel of Bohemia walks in disguise, seeking adventure, while his loyal companion Colonel Geraldine tries to keep him safe. The Suicide Club and The Rajah's Diamond draw them into secret societies and the trouble surrounding a great jewel.
The single tales take you further: The Pavilion on the Links follows Frank Cassilis into danger on the Scottish coast. A Lodging for the Night finds François Villon seeking shelter in freezing Paris. The Sire de Maletroit's Door brings a young soldier through a strange doorway, while Providence and the Guitar follows Léon and Stasie, poor travelling singers looking for food and a bed.
What you’ll discover
- A prince in disguise Follow Florizel into adventures where boldness and a loyal friend stand against danger.
- A jewel that brings trouble Trace a great diamond through ordinary hands, with trouble following whoever holds it.
- A coast under threat Join Frank Cassilis as love draws him toward a family facing danger.
- Shelter on a bitter night Walk snowy Paris with Villon, a poet and thief with an empty purse.
- A dry, playful voice Enjoy quick plots and odd settings with a narrator who shares the fun.
Who will love it
For readers who love quick plots, odd settings and a dry, playful voice, and anyone who wants a gateway to Stevenson before Treasure Island.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A prince finds a club for the doomed
- The club's rules close in on a stranger
- A great diamond passes through ordinary hands
- A fugitive hides in a seaside pavilion
- Two nights, two doors, two young men
- Singers on the road and a storyteller's art
Who’s who
- Prince Florizel of BohemiaA ruler who walks the streets in disguise, seeking adventure, and who is bold, shrewd and sometimes careless of danger.
- Colonel GeraldineThe prince's loyal friend and companion, who follows him into trouble and tries, often in vain, to keep him safe.
- Silas Q. ScuddamoreA lively young American touring Europe who is drawn against his will into the secret life of London.
- Frank CassilisA young man camping on the Scottish coast who falls in love and must face a threat to the family he cares for.
- François VillonThe poet and thief of fifteenth century Paris, looking for shelter on a bitter winter night.
- Denis de BeaulieuA young soldier who ducks through a strange door in a French town and finds that someone has plans for him.
- Léon and StasieA poor pair of strolling singers in France who live by their songs and try to find food and a bed.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 28 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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New Arabian Nights
by Robert Louis Stevenson· 1882
Prince Florizel enters a secret London club for people who wish to die, putting his own life at risk.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A prince finds a club for the doomed
The first cycle, The Suicide Club, opens in London with a young man who stands in the street offering cream tarts to passers-by. He politely tells each one that if they refuse, he will eat the tarts himself. This is his small joke before a larger one. He has spent his money, he has nothing to live for, and he is wandering the city with an odd kind of cheerfulness.
Into his path come two gentlemen who are far more than they seem. One is Prince Florizel of Bohemia, a ruler who likes to slip out in plain clothes and look for adventure. The other is his friend and companion, Colonel Geraldine. They are bored with palace life, and the young man with the tarts promises them something new. He takes them to a private club where the members have one thing in common.
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What is New Arabian Nights about?
It is a collection of adventure and mystery stories by Stevenson. Two linked cycles follow Prince Florizel of Bohemia, and four separate tales are set in Scotland, medieval Paris and rural France.
Why is it called New Arabian Nights?
The title echoes the old Arabian Nights, a book of wonders in far places. Stevenson sets his marvels in modern London and Europe, suggesting that strange adventures can be found in ordinary streets.
What is The Suicide Club about?
It is a three-part tale in which Prince Florizel of Bohemia and Colonel Geraldine discover a secret London club for people who wish to die. The prince then sets out to face its leader.
The author
Robert Louis Stevenson
1850–1894 · Scottish novelist and poet
Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist and poet, born in Edinburgh in 1850. He wrote Treasure Island (1883), A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885), and Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). He settled in Samoa in 1890 and died there in 1894.
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