Adrian Poole

Christine van Ruymbeke

William H. Martin

Sandra Mason

Edward FitzGerald's ‘Rubáiyát’, loosely based on verses attributed to the eleventh-century Persian writer, Omar Khayyám, has become one of the most widely known poems in the world, republished virtually every year from 1879 to the present day, and translated into over eighty different languages. And yet it has been largely ignored or at best patronized by the academic establishment. This volume sets out to explore the reasons for both the popularity and the neglect.

Popularity and Neglect

FitzGeralds Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

Its lines and verses have become part of the western literary canon and his translation of this most famous of poems has been continuously in print in for almost a century and a half. But just who was Edward FitzGerald? Was he the eccentric recluse that most scholars would have us believe? Is there more to the man than just his famous translation? In The Man Behind the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam William Martin and Sandra Martin go beyond the standard view. Drawing on their unique analysis of the more than 2,000 surviving letters of FitzGerald, together with evidence from his scrapbooks, commonplace books and materials from his personal library, they reveal a more convivial yet complex personality than we have been led to suppose."

The Life and Letters of Edward Fitzgerald

The Man Behind the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

William Henry Martin

The book presents the text of Edward FitzGerald’s three main versions of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in an easily accessible form, together with a non-technical commentary on the origins, role and influence of the poem. The reader is given a chance to evaluate each of FitzGerald’s alternative texts as a whole and to examine how the poet presented his texts to the public and annotated the verses. The commentary discusses the lives and work of Khayyam and FitzGerald, and recounts the fascinating story the publication of the Rubaiyat and its rise to great fame and popularity, including a look at the wide-ranging spin-offs the poem has generated in art, music and other fields. The editors use the latest research to analyze the poem’s worldwide influence during the 150 years since its first appearance and the continuing relevance of the poem in the world of the 21st century.

A Famous Poem and Its Influence

Edward FitzGerald's Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

Sandra Mason

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