Arabian Nights 1914: A Novel About Kaiser Wilhelm II

Steven Greenhalgh is the research librarian in the Department of Public
Health Sciences at the University of Alberta.

This latest work by Eric Koch begins in the fictitious Middle Eastern
country of Ouda and features Scheherazade (or Zade), daughter of the
Grand Vizier of Ouda. Zade, who has been educated in Cairo and
Constantinople, is determined to stop the tyranny of King Shahriyar of
Ouda and convince him of the need to modernize. To her father’s
horror, she volunteers to spend the night with the king. When she does,
she recounts a tale of Kaiser Wilhelm II. By leaving the story
unfinished, Zade is able to avoid execution, the fate that usually
awaits any woman who spends the night with the king. The following
night, she concludes her tale and begins another involving the Kaiser.

Meanwhile, as war looms in Europe, Zade resolves to leave Ouda for
Berlin and join her friend Ali Hassan, who is Ouda’s ambassador to
Germany. Zade’s quest is to convince the Kaiser of his desire for
peace, not war. With the help of Ali, a number of strategies are enacted
to have the seductive Zade meet with the German monarch.

Arabian Nights 1914 is an imaginative take on the original tale of A
Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Chapters are divided into two sections.
The first section focuses on Zade and her creative attempts to meet with
the Kaiser. The second section is a tale of the Kaiser as told by Zade
to King Shahriyar of Ouda. The tales told about the Kaiser are
entertaining and highlight his efforts to be a modern monarch; however,
they are not as fantastical or daring as those told by the original
Scheherazade.

Arabian Nights 1914 is an intriguing and clever historical fiction with
a surprise ending that will amuse readers.