WAshiq Qarib is an anonymous romantic dastan, composed not earlier than the 16—17th centuries and popular in Transcaucasia and Central Asia. The verses, which are incorporated into the prose, are ascribed to the eponymous hero, a wandering Ashik who began his journeys with worldly love and attains wisdom by travelling and learning then achieving sainthood. The original Azerbaijani version was first recorded by Mikhail Lermontov in 1837 and was published in 1846. In 1915 Azerbaijani composer Zulfugar Hajibeyov wrote an opera Ashiq Qarib.
WThe Heart of Princess Osra is part of Anthony Hope's trilogy of books which spawned the genre of Ruritanian romance. This collection of linked short stories is a prequel: it was written immediately after the success of The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) and was published in 1896, but is set in the 1730s, well over a century before the events of the first novel and its sequel, Rupert of Hentzau (1898). The stories are set in the fictional country of Ruritania, a Germanic kingdom, and deal with the love life of Princess Osra of the House of Elphberg. Osra is the younger sister of Rudolf III, the shared ancestor of Rudolf Rassendyll, the English gentleman who acts as political decoy in The Prisoner of Zenda, and Rudolph V, the absolute monarch of Ruritania.
WHumsafar is a 2008 romantic novel written by Farhat Ishtiaq. The novel was first published in 7 parts in Khawateen Digest monthly from July 2007 to January 2008. It was later published as a complete novel by Ilm-o-Irfan Publishers. The story revolves around Ashar and Khirad's relationship with their daughter, Hareem, and how she unknowingly bridges the distances that exist between her parents. The novel is written in a retrospective manner and told mostly in flashbacks. The first half of the novel is based on mostly Ashar's reflections and his point of view while the second part of the novel is told mainly from Khirad's point of view.
WThe Ice Maiden's Sheikh is the ninth book in Alexandra Sellers's Sons of the Desert series, and was released in 2004. It features a parallel story to the one told in the previous book of the series, Sheikh's Castaway, as Princess Noor's cousin is left behind to answer her family's questions upon Noor's disappearance. This book follows the adventures of Jalia Shahbazi and Sheikh Latif Abd al Razzaq Shahin as they take off on search for Jalia's missing cousin. Jalia, like her cousin Noor, is another reluctant re-enthroned Bagestani princess who struggles to make sense of her ties to both Eastern and Western cultures.
WOutlander is a series of historical fantasy novels by American author Diana Gabaldon. Gabaldon began the first volume of the series, Outlander, in the late 1980s, and it was published in 1991. She has published nine out of a planned ten volumes. The ninth novel in the series, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, was released on November 23, 2021.
WRuritanian romance is a genre of literature, film and theatre comprising novels, stories, plays and films set in a fictional country, usually in Central or Eastern Europe, such as the "Ruritania" that gave the genre its name.
WSheikh's Castaway is the eighth book in Alexandra Sellers's Sons of the Desert series, and was released in 2004. After learning she had been lied to and betrayed by her fiancé Bari, Princess Noor from Bagestan escapes from her own wedding, still dressed in her elaborate gown. In a reckless attempt to disappear and flee her imminent marriage, Noor hijacks her fiancé's airplane, flying it straight into a tropical storm. Unbeknownst to her, Bari has hidden himself in the aircraft, and only makes his presence known in an attempt to save themselves just before they crash-land off the coast of a deserted island.