Author: Fakhraddin Gorgani
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages: 519
Publication date: 2008
ISBN: 9780143105626
Back Cover description:
The inspiration for Tristan and Isolde, Vis and Ramin was written between 1050 and 1055 and is the first Persian romance. At the heart of the story is Vis, daughter of the queen of Mah and promised to Mobad, King of Marv. Against a background of court intrigue, broken promises, and open conflict, Vis finds herself escorted to her future husband by his brother, Ramin—an impetuous prince who cannot help falling in love with his charge and jeopardizing the fate of two realms. Lushly told and keenly perceptive in its characterizations, Vis and Ramin is a masterpiece with timeless appeal.
“One of the most extraordinary and fascinating love narratives produced anywhere in the medieval world, Islamic or Christian. . . . Excellent introduction makes a convincing case for Vis and Ramin being the source for Tristan and Isolde. . . . New translation by the poet Dick Davis, widely regarded as our finest translator of Persian poetry, in heroic couplets. . . . This wonderful work should win Gorgani the Western audience he richly deserves.”
—The Times Literary Supplement