In a city of sultans, seductresses and apes, Balian of Norwich is pursued through a maze of streets by the Father of Cats, Fatima the Deadly, Shikk the half-man and many others. The Arabian Nightmare pervades the darkness of medieval Cairo. It haunts the labyrinth of its streets. It is a dream without awakening, a flight without escape, a tale without end. AUTHOR: Robert Irwin was born in 1946. He read Modern History at Oxford and taught Medieval History at the University of St Andrews. He also lectured on Arabic and Middle Eastern History at the universities of London, Cambridge and Oxford. He is the commissioning editor for the TLS for The Middle East and writes for a number of newspapers and journals in the UK and the USA. He is a fellow of The Royal Society of Literature. SELLING POINTS: It was in the first Dedalus list in 1983 and has never been out of print since. It is one of the great works of literary fantasy of its period and has been translated into twenty languages and acclaimed universally for its brilliance and inventiveness. It is essential reading for any devotee of literary fiction.