Arabic literature is traditionally unrestrained in its depiction of all forms of eroticism, from sensuality and mundane obscenities to frivolous fantasies of paradise.This brief introduction portrays the world of Arabic erotic literature in all its complexity, and introduces the reader to an aspect of life that contemporary Arab writers seek to recapture in a revival of libertine literature.The book is illustrated and contains glossaries, indices, and suggestions for further reading.Nadia Al-Bagdadi is a scholar of Islamic studies with a research focus on the nineteenth-century socio-cultural history of the Arab world. She teaches at the Central European University, Budapest.