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Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe

The Complete Story of Robinson Crusoe
By,&
ClassicsAdventure
Pages
98
Published
1719
Language
English

Synopsis

Against his father's wishes, young Robinson Crusoe runs away to sea in pursuit of adventure — and pays for it dearly. After storms, enslavement, and escape, he settles as a planter in Brazil, only to be shipwrecked on a deserted island off the coast of South America, the sole survivor of his crew. There he will remain for twenty-eight years.

Daniel Defoe's foundational 1719 novel follows Crusoe's painstaking labor to survive and civilize his solitude: salvaging tools from the wreck, building shelter, raising crops and goats, keeping a journal, and wrestling with faith and despair. Years into his isolation he discovers he is not as alone as he believed, and after rescuing a captive from cannibals — a man he names Friday — his island becomes a small, uneasy society of two.

Often called the first English novel, Robinson Crusoe is a landmark tale of survival, self-reliance, and endurance, and a much-debated record of the colonial attitudes of its age.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

AdventurousReflectiveAtmosphericThought-Provoking
Survival
Writing3.0Impact2.0Characters3.0Plot2.0Atmosphere3.0

Genres

Classics Adventure

Authors

D
Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe, born Daniel Foe, was an English writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained enduring fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain, and is even referred to by some as among the founders of the English novel. A prolific and versatile writer, he wrote more than 500 books, pamphlets, and journals on various topics (including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology a...

J
J. J. Grandville

J. J. Grandville is the author of the classic adventure tale, Robinson Crusoe. This enduring story of survival and ingenuity has been a favorite for generations.

N
N. C. Wyeth

Newell Convers Wyeth was an American painter and illustrator. He was a student of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 paintings and illustrated 112 books — 25 of them for Scribner's, the Scribner Classics, which is the body of work for which he is best known. -- Wikipedia

Characters

Robinson CrusoeProtagonist

A castaway who survives twenty-eight years alone on a deserted island through labor, ingenuity, and faith.

Friday (Robinson Crusoe)Supporting

A man Crusoe rescues from cannibals and takes as his companion and servant, naming him for the day of the rescue.

XurySupporting

A boy who escapes slavery in Sallee alongside Crusoe and sails the African coast with him.

All characters in Robinson Crusoe

Frequently asked questions

  • Is this book based on a true story?

    The narrative is widely considered to be inspired by the real-life experiences of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who was marooned on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific for four years during the early eighteenth century.

  • Does this story have a sequel?

    Daniel Defoe wrote a direct continuation titled The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, which follows the protagonist on further travels through Africa, Asia, and Europe. For much of the book's history, this sequel was published alongside the original novel as a single volume.

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