''The Shaving of Shagpat: An Arabian Entertainment'' is a

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...

by English writer

George Meredith George Meredith (12 February 1828 – 18 May 1909) was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but he gradually established a reputation as a novelist. '' The Ord ...

. It was first published in hardcover by

Chapman and Hall Chapman & Hall is an imprint owned by CRC Press, originally founded as a British publishing house in London in the first half of the 19th century by Edward Chapman and William Hall. Chapman & Hall were publishers for Charles Dickens (from 1840 ...

in 1856, and there have been numerous editions since. Its importance in the history of fantasy literature was recognized by its reissuing by Ballantine Books as the seventeenth volume of the

Ballantine Adult Fantasy series The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of American publisher Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969 (presumably in response to the growing popularity of Tolkien's works), the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature which w ...

in July 1970. The Ballantine edition includes an introduction by

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...

. The novel is a humorous oriental romance and allegory written in the style of '' Arabian Nights''. Like its model, it includes a number of stories within the story, along with poetic asides.

Plot summary

Shibli Bagarag, a Persian barber, and Noorna, an enchantress, are given the quest of shaving the tyrant Shagpat, who by the power of his magical hair holds his city in thrall. Along the way Shibli acquires a magic sword and meets a series of exotic creatures, including a talking hawk and several genies. The second paragraph of the book provides a capsule summary of the story: "''Now the story of Shibli Bagarag, and of the ball he followed, and of the subterranean kingdom he came to, and of the enchanted palace he entered, and of the sleeping king he shaved, and of the two princesses he released, and of the Afrite held in subjection by the arts of one and bottled by her, is it not known as 'twere written on the finger-nails of men and traced in their corner robes?''"

Reception

Everett F. Bleiler described ''The Shaving of Shagpat'' as "a very curious work, at times written with great imagination of small incident and richness of fantasy". He noted that the novel was anomalous in the context of Meredith's work overall, and that it has been said to have allegorical elements relating to the politics of its day (although Meredith denied the claim in later editions).

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

praised the novel as a work of genius', precious 'as an apple tree among the trees of the wood.M. Sturge Henderson, ''George Meredith: Novelist, Poet, Reformer'',

Scribners Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

, 1907, p.17 She went on to say that Meredith's fantasy "has none of the tameness which belongs to mere imitations manufactured with servile effort or thrown off with simious facility. It is no patchwork of borrowed incidents. Mr. Meredith has not simply imitated Arabian fictions, he has been inspired by them; he has used oriental forms, but only as an oriental genius would have used them".George Eliot
''Writings, Volume 22''

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, 1908, pp.335-40 Despite positive reviews, ''The Shaving of Shagpat'' sold poorly and the 1st edition wound up in the remainder stalls. Meredith never attempted fantasy again, but became a successful writer of modern romantic novels.

References

External links

* *
The Shaving of Shagpat
at Gutenberg.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaving of Shagpat, The 1856 British novels English fantasy novels Novels by George Meredith Chapman & Hall books