The Shaving of Shagpat; an Arabian entertainment — Volume 4   By: George Meredith (1828-1909)

In the fourth volume of this Arabian entertainment series by George Meredith, readers are once again transported to a world of magic, adventure, and intrigue. The story of Shagpat and his perilous journey continues to unfold in a captivating and imaginative way.

Meredith's writing is rich and vivid, painting a detailed picture of this fantastical world and its colorful characters. The themes of power, deception, and redemption are skillfully woven throughout the narrative, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as they follow Shagpat's quest to shave the all-powerful, all-evil Shagpat.

The author's prose is both lyrical and engaging, drawing readers in from the very first page and leading them through a series of twists and turns that will leave them breathless. The character development is also impressive, as Shagpat and his companions undergo personal growth and transformation in the face of danger and adversity.

Overall, this fourth installment in the series is a thrilling and satisfying read that will not disappoint fans of fantasy and adventure literature. George Meredith has once again delivered a masterpiece that will leave readers eagerly anticipating the next volume in the series.

First Page:

Now, they sped from the Cave of Chrysolites by another passage than that by which they entered it, and nothing but the light of the Sword to guide them. By that light Shibli Bagarag could distinguish glimmering shapes, silent and statue like, to the right and the left of them, their visages hidden in a veil of heavy webs; and he saw what seemed in the dusk broad halls, halls of council, and again black pools and black groves, and columns of crowded porticoes, all signs of an underground kingdom. They came to some steps and mounted these severally, coming to a platform, in the middle of which leapt a fountain, the top spray of it touched with a beam of earth and the air breathed by men. Here he heard the youths dabble with the dark waters, and he discerned Gulrevaz tossing it in her two hands, calling, 'Koorookh! Koorookh!' Then they said to him, 'Stir this fountain with the Sword, O Master of the Event!' So he stirred the fountain, and the whole body of it took a leap toward the light that was like the shoot of a long lance of silver in the moon's rays, and lo! in its place the ruffled feathers of a bird... Continue reading book >>