New Arabian Nights was published by Chatto & Windus in 1882. The collection contains two cycles of linked stories: “The Suicide Club” and “The Rajah’s Diamond,” both featuring Prince Donatello of Dobruja, a wandering Continental aristocrat who explores the criminal underworld of London in search of adventure. The framing device — an Eastern prince encountering Western depravity — consciously echoed the Thousand and One Nights, transposing the structure of Oriental tale-telling onto the gaslit streets of Victorian London.
“The Suicide Club” — in which members draw cards to determine who will die and who will kill — is one of the great short fictions of the Victorian era, a story that influenced everything from Conan Doyle to G.K. Chesterton.
Collecting New Arabian Nights
First edition (Chatto & Windus, London, 1882): Two volumes, blue cloth.
Market values:
- First edition (two volumes), fine: $2,000–$5,000
- First edition, very good: $800–$2,000
- Good: $300–$800
Projected values (2026–2036): Strong appreciation. Early Stevenson, very scarce.
Victorian Exoticism
New Arabian Nights (1882) collects Stevenson’s most extravagant short fiction, including “The Suicide Club” and “The Rajah’s Diamond” — stories of London’s criminal underworld, secret societies, and aristocratic decadence told with the narrative energy of the Thousand and One Nights. The stories are darker and more playful than Stevenson’s later adventure fiction, closer in spirit to Poe and Wilkie Collins than to Treasure Island.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Stevenson’s health like? Stevenson suffered from chronic respiratory illness (probably tuberculosis) throughout his life. His health dictated his movements — he spent years in continental health resorts, the American West, and finally Samoa, searching for a climate that would keep him alive. Despite constant illness, he was remarkably productive, publishing over thirty books in a career cut short at 44.