The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

Name: The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
Author: Daniel Defoe

Robinson Kreutznaer, called Crusoe, narrates his own life, born in York in 1632 to a Bremen-born merchant father and English mother. Against his father's advice to remain content with the "middle station of life," he runs away to sea from Hull in 1651, surviving a violent storm off Yarmouth that kills his resolve to reform only briefly. He sails as a gentleman-passenger to London, then joins a Guinea trading voyage, profiting handsomely under an honest captain who teaches him navigation. On a second voyage he is captured by a Sallee rover and enslaved by a Moorish patron for two years. He escapes by boat with the boy Xury, sailing down the African coast, trading with natives, killing a lion and a leopard, and is finally rescued by a generous Portuguese captain who carries him to Brazil. In Brazil he becomes a sugar planter, prospering modestly over four years. Restless again, he joins a voyage to Guinea to illegally trade for slaves for fellow planters, setting sail on 1 September 1659. A hurricane wrecks the ship off an unknown coast; Crusoe alone survives, swimming ashore to a desolate island he names the Island of Despair, landing 30 September 1659. He salvages tools, weapons, provisions, and other goods from the grounded wreck via makeshift rafts before it breaks apart and sinks. He builds a fortified tent and cave dwelling, keeps a journal, and fashions a calendar by notching a post. He hunts goats, catches fish and turtles, and discovers barley and rice sprouting accidentally from spilled chicken feed, which he cultivates. He tames a dog, cats, and a parrot named Poll. An earthquake and violent storm nearly destroy his shelter, prompting him to relocate his stores. Severe illness brings on a feverish dream of a vengeful figure threatening him for failing to repent; recovering with tobacco and rum, he turns to reading the Bible, and undergoes genuine religious conversion, coming to view his island exile as divine providence rather than mere misfortune. He explores the island, finding it surrounded by sea, discovering a lusher valley with grapes, melons, and citrus trees, where he builds a second "bower" retreat, though he keeps his original fortified dwelling as his main home. He preserves raisins, tames a wild kid, and expands his food stores. Through prolonged trial and error—lacking iron tools, mills, or proper materials—he teaches himself to make baskets, fire earthen pots capable of holding liquid and withstanding heat, a wooden mortar and pestle, sieves from old neckcloths, and an improvised oven, eventually producing bread from his cultivated barley and rice. He marks his second and third anniversaries on the island with solemn religious observance, reflecting that his solitary, God-directed existence may be preferable to his former sinful, wandering life. The narrative breaks off as he continues provisioning himself, still contemplating the distant mainland he has glimpsed and the perils—including cannibals—that such land might hold, while resolving to remain safely settled on his island.

By Daniel Defoe · First published 1719 · Genre: Adventure Fiction, Survival Stories, Travel Literature · 20 chapters · 138,192 words

First lines

I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family, though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull. He got a good estate by merchandise, and leaving off his trade, lived afterwards at York, from whence he had married my mother, whose relations were named Robinson, a very good family in that country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but, by the usual corruption of words in England, we are now called-nay we call ourselves and write our name-Crusoe; and so my companions always called me.

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The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is listed on Textopian as a novel by Daniel Defoe, dated 1719 CE.

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Work type: Novel
Author: Daniel Defoe
Date: 1719 CE
Language: English
Genres: Adventure Fiction, Survival Stories, Travel Literature, Historical Fiction, Autobiographical Fiction
Length: 138,192 words
Structure: 20 chapters, 1,041 paragraphs
Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)

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Similar titles

Genres

Adventure Fiction — The plot revolves around the protagonist's survival on a deserted island and his various exploits, making it fit into the adventure fiction genre.
Survival Stories — Crusoe's efforts to live after being shipwrecked on an uninhabited island highlight the theme of human resilience and survival in harsh conditions.
Travel Literature — The narrative involves Crusoe's sea voyage, exploration of unknown territories and encounter with different cultures, making it align closely with the travel literature genre.
Historical Fiction — Although the tale is fictional, it is set in a specific historical context, providing a lens into the life and times of 17th century England and making it partly historical fiction.