Pictorial map of Crusoe's island, the 'Island of Despair', showing incidents from the book Before the end of 1719, the book had already run through four editions, and it has gone on to become one of the most widely published books in history, spawning so many imitations, not only in literature but also in film, television, and radio, that its name is used to define a genre, the Robinsonade. It is generally seen as a contender for the first English novel. : 23–24ĭespite its simple narrative style, Robinson Crusoe was well received in the literary world and is often credited as marking the beginning of realistic fiction as a literary genre. The story has been thought to be based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish castaway who lived for four years on a Pacific island called 'Más a Tierra' (now part of Chile) which was renamed Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966.

Įpistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is presented as an autobiography of the title character (whose birth name is Robinson Kreutznaer) – a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical desert island near the coasts of Venezuela and Trinidad, roughly resembling Tobago, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers before being rescued. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a travelogue of true incidents. Robinson Crusoe ( / ˈ k r uː s oʊ/) is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

Robinson crusoe novel