Grown from a single mention in a continuation of the Arabian tales, Southey’s 1801 romance follows Thalaba, orphaned when evil magicians slay his family, on a wandering quest against their seminary of sorcerers beneath the roots of the sea. Twelve books of unrhymed, irregular verse carry him through deserts, enchanted gardens and ruined cities, with dense notes from Oriental and classical sources.
An early and influential Romantic experiment in Orientalist epic, much loved by the young Shelley. Download the free EPUB.