The perfumed garden of sensual delight = Ar-rawd̲ al-ʻât̲ir fî nuzhatiʼl khât̲ir

The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight has a bad reputation and a tattered history. For over a century, it has been known in English through Sir Richard Burton’s bizarre translation (from the French) which consistently elaborated and misinterpreted the original. If ever a book needed demystifying, it is this one. Although remarkably lewd at times, it does not linger over details nor does it contrive to excite. It does not, therefore, qualify as pornography. In fact, The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight is nothing more than a manual for the ordinary married man of its author’s time and place – Tunisia, in the early part of the 15th century – but one that is not without some entertainment value. The present translation is not only the first, published English version to be based upon an established Arabic text, but also the first to be translated directly from the original Arabic at all. First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In this rich compilation, Emeka Nwosu takes the reader to a journey of the issues that have helped to shape discourses on various aspects of the Nigerian state and society. The articles, originally published in his weekly column in the premier Nigerian daily newspaper, ThisDay, not only show his perspectives on these issues when they were written but also reveal how discussions on some of those issues have evolved over time and how they have mutated today.

Journalists, especially those who maintain regular columns, are often said to write 'history in a hurry'. For experienced writers like the author whose writings are research-based, it does not mean that what they write about is factually wrong but simply that their writings are infused with the passions and emotions that attended those issues as they unfolded.

This collection is therefore not only informed commentaries on some of the issues that have shaped the contour of the Nigerian state and society over the years but a good trip on the passions and emotions that attended those discourses. The articles, 66 of them, are written with remarkable candour and gusto and therefore a delight to read. They form a very important contribution to the corpus of works on Nigerian politics and society.

"The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight has a bad reputation and a tattered history. For over a century, it has been known in English through Sir Richard Burton's bizarre translation (from the French) which consistently elaborated and misrepresented the original. If ever a book needed demystifying, it is this one. Although remarkably lewd at times, it does not linger over details nor does it contrive to excite. It does not, therefore, qualify as pornography. In fact, The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight is nothing more than a manual for the ordinary, married man of its author's time and place - Tunisia, in the early part of the 15th century - but one that is not without some entertainment value." "The present translation is not only the first, published English version to be based upon an established Arabic text, but also the first to be translated directly from the original Arabic at all."--Jacket The Perfumed Garden is a sex manual written in erotic prose. It gives advice on bodily appearance, sexual technique, and also on the symptoms and remedies for sexual diseases. Al-Nafzawi also describes the sex of animals and interprets dreams. The advice and technical descriptions are interspersed with stories which should give the manual context and amuse the reader.