Synopses & Reviews
Who has not dreamed of life on an exotic isle, far away from civilization? Here is the novel which has inspired countless imitations by lesser writers, none of which equal the power and originality of Defoe's famous book. Robinson Crusoe, set ashore on an island after a terrible storm at sea, is forced to make do with only a knife, some tobacco, and a pipe. He learns how to build a canoe, make bread, and endure endless solitude. That is, until, twenty-four years later, when he confronts another human being. First published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe has been praised by such writers as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Samuel Johnson as one of the greatest novels in the English language.
Synopsis
When Robinson Crusoe left the English coast for Africa, he never dreamed he'd soon find himself on a desert island, the sole survivor of a shipwreck. Daniel Defoe's gripping adventure-one of the first English novels-chronicles Crusoe's experiences on the island, which include finding a human footprint on the shore, encountering cannibals, and befriending a native whom Crusoe calls Friday. Crusoe's story is also an account of one man's physical survival and his psychological and spiritual development in an alienating and dangerous solitude. This classic novel, published in 1719, remains one of the most famous and resonant myths in literature.
Synopsis
The original tale of a castaway struggling to survive on a remote desert island, and one of the first novels in English
The sole survivor of a shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe is washed up on a desert island. In his journal he chronicles his daily battle to stay alive, as he conquers isolation, fashions shelter and clothes, enlists the help of a native islander who he names 'Friday', and fights off cannibals and mutineers. Written in an age of exploration and enterprise, it has been variously interpreted as an embodiment of British imperialist values, as a portrayal of 'natural man', or as a moral fable. But above all is a brilliant narrative, depicting Crusoe's transformation from terrified survivor to self-sufficient master of an island. This edition contains a full chronology of Defoe's life and times, explanatory notes, glossary and a critical introduction discussing Robinson Crusoe as a pioneering work of modern psychological realism.
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Synopsis
'Robinson Crusoe has a universal appeal, a story that goes right to the core of existence' Simon Armitage
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, regarded by many to be first novel in English, is also the original tale of a castaway struggling to survive on a remote desert island.
The sole survivor of a shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe is washed up on a desert island. In his journal he chronicles his daily battle to stay alive, as he conquers isolation, fashions shelter and clothes, enlists the help of a native islander who he names 'Friday', and fights off cannibals and mutineers. Written in an age of exploration and enterprise, it has been variously interpreted as an embodiment of British imperialist values, as a portrayal of 'natural man', or as a moral fable. But above all is a brilliant narrative, depicting Crusoe's transformation from terrified survivor to self-sufficient master of an island.
This edition contains a full chronology of Defoe's life and times, explanatory notes, glossary and a critical introduction discussing Robinson Crusoe as a pioneering work of modern psychological realism.
Edited with an introduction and notes by John Richetti.
Synopsis
Introduction by John Richetti
Synopsis
Originally published: London: W. Taylor, 1719.
About the Author
Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 in London, the son of a prosperous tallow-chandler. He was educated in the Presbyterian Ministry at Mortons Academy for Dissenters, but in 1683 abandoned the ministry and followed his father by pursuing a career in trade and politics. A prolific non-fiction writer, prominent public figure, political agitant, and secret agent, it was not until late in his life that Defoe turned to fiction. He published
Robinson Crusoe in 1719, just over ten years before his death in 1731, and is widely held to be the first true novelist.
John Richetti is A. M. Rosenthal Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania. From 2008 to 2009 he was President of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and in 2011 he received a Mellon Emeritus Fellowship. His works include Popular Fiction before Richardson: Narrative Patterns 1700-1739, The Life of Daniel Defoe: A Critical Biography, and The English Novel in History 1700-1780.
Coralie Bickford-Smith is an award-winning designer at Penguin Books (U.K.), where she has created several highly acclaimed series designs. She studied typography at Reading University and lives in London.