Synopses & Reviews
Daniel Defoe relates the tale of an English sailor marooned on a desert island for nearly three decades. An ordinary man struggling to survive in extraordinary circumstances, Robinson Crusoe wrestles with fate and the nature of God.
Review
"Beyond the end of Robinson Crusoe is a new world of fiction. Even though it did not know itself to be a novel, and even though there were books that we might now call novels published before it, Robinson Crusoe has made itself into a prototype...Perhaps because of all the novels that we have read...the novelty of Defoe's fiction is the more striking when we return to it. Here it is, at the beginning of things, with its final word reaching out into the future." (From the Introduction by John Mullan)
Review
"The first thing that surprised me upon picking up a copy of Robinson Crusoe is how long ago it was written. It was published in 1721, when the American colonies were just that. Slavery was the unquestioned institution of the day, even in England; William Wilberforce wouldn't be born for another 40 years. Sailing ships from one place to another was still a very risky proposition; before finally being cast away on a Caribbean island for almost 30 years, Crusoe survives two other shipwrecks. Many scholars assume Defoe was influenced by the popular account of Alexander Selkirk, who was marooned on an island for four years the decade before." Doug Brown, Powells.com (Read the entire Powells.com review)
About the Author
Daniel Defoe (1659-1731) is often referred to as the founder of the English novel.