What if there were a text telling the story of Scheherazade, the narrator of One Thousand and One Nights?

Sophie Fontanel imagines what lies beyond the frame, behind the scenes.

 “Listen, dear sir… a book is extraordinary. All it takes is for someone to have created a character in a book for that character, if they have genius, to take on a life of their own and live on through the centuries and even in the minds of those who have never read the book. This is the case with Scheherazade.”

In One Thousand and One Nights, Scheherazade, a courageous and intrepid demigoddess, volunteers one day to marry a monstrous man who, for three years, has been beheading at dawn every new wife he married the day before for fear of being cheated on. By leaving the king hanging every morning with a story that has no ending, she saves her own skin and invents literature. But apart from this tale, what do we really know about Scheherazade?

In this novel, Sophie Fontanel alternates between two narratives.

THE FAMILY NOVEL. During a trip to Venice, the narrator’s teenage aunt inspires her to tell the true story of Scheherazade and the Orient to which their Armenian roots connect them. She will spend her whole life accomplishing this project, when she in turn decides to pass on this “treasure” to a young woman, once again in Venice.

THE REINVENTION OF THE STORY OF SCHEHERAZADE. Here, Scheherazade finally becomes a real character: who is she? Why does she implement such a risky plan with such confidence? How does she succeed? What role does her sister play? Who is the king? Will Scheherazade and he unite? Will they love each other? The two strands of the story intertwine until the dénouement.

Sophie Fontanel takes us on a journey between Venice and the Orient, exploring themes that are dear to her: roots and transmission, the role of literature, and always gentleness as a bulwark against the violence of the world.