When originally published in 1890, Arabic Authors revealed first revealed the wealth of literary, traditional and historical writings in a text understood by the general reader. The passage of years has done little to erode the intrinsic value of the book, and indeed the added historical perspective lends a new dimension to it.Those with an interest in the development of Arabic literature, and in the figures that shaped Islamic thought and writings, will welcome the republication of this work in the facsimile edition.Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot (1833-1901), historian and compiler of works on oriental themes, revived the Oriental Translation Fund (1891) which undertook the translation of many Arabic works in English.