The original perfumed garden was "The Perfumed Garden of the Shaykh Nefzaw", translated by Sir Richard Burton and published in 1886. "The Perfumed Garden" was originally written by the Shaykh Umar ibn Muhammed a-Nefzawi in the 16th century. A manuscript copy of the book was found, in 1850, by a French officer stationed in Algeria, who translated it into his own language. He was unable to publish it until 25 years later, when four French officers collaborated to print it using offical lithograph machines belonging to the French government. Their commanding officer discovered their secret and they had to stop publication after making only 35 copies. Copies were made in Paris in 1885 and the French novelist, Guy de Maupassant, wrote to a publisher to plead for it to be proprelly reprinted. Several editions were published during the 1904 to 1922.

Sir Richard Burton had a copy of the book, a version of the original translation, and decided to tranlate it into English, for the Kama Shastra Scoeity. The aim of the society was to publish works, particularly Oriental, concerening love and sex. The society had just two members, Sir Richard Burton and his friend, Foster Arbuthnot, with Lord Houghton as an invisible patron. They pbulsihed five titles, with "The Perfumed Garden" being the third to be published. The French version had ommited a section on homosexuality, but Sir Richard decided not to censor his edition. The book is not just a manual of sex, it also contains folk tales, legends and anecdotes to illustrate the text. It also contains warnings of the dangers of indulging too much in sex, food or drink and of avoiding drugs.