Robinson Crusoe - (Scribner Classics) by Daniel Defoe (Hardcover)

About the Book

During one of his several adventurous voyages in the 1600's an Englishman becomes the sole survivor of a shipwreck and lives for nearly thirty years on a deserted island.

Book Synopsis

Dive in to the ultimate tale of shipwreck and survival in this illustrated, finely crafted keepsake edition of the classic adventure story that has thrilled readers for nearly three centuries.

After a fierce storm at sea, Robinson Crusoe is marooned on an uncharted island, with only a few bits of his wrecked ship's flotsam and jetsam to sustain him. For more than two decades, he faces the wrath of nature and the struggle to stay alive with little more than his wits to save him. Then, following an encounter with cannibals, a tribesman named Friday becomes Crusoe's only ally. As their relationship develops, the line between servant and friend begins to blur, and the possibility of freedom for them both at last looms on the horizon.

This collectible edition of a beloved adventure includes a soft-touch cover, gold foiling, and luminous illustrations from N.C. Wyeth, whose oil paintings perfectly depict the roiling seas, baking sun, and vast expanse of open space.

From the Back Cover

Robinson Crusoe is one of the most famous literary characters in history, and his story has spawned hundreds of retellings. Inspired by the life of Alexander Selkirk, a sailor who lived for several years on a Pacific island, the novel tells the story of Crusoe's survival after shipwreck on an island, interaction with the mainland's native inhabitants, and eventual rescue. Read variously as economic fable, religious allegory, or imperialist fantasy, Crusoe has never lost its appeal as one of the most compelling adventure stories of all time. In addition to an introduction and helpful notes, this Broadview Edition includes a wide range of appendices that situate Defoe's 1719 novel amidst castaway narratives, economic treatises, reports of cannibalism, explorations of solitude, and Defoe's own writings on slavery and the African trade. A final appendix presents images of Crusoe's rescue of Friday from a dozen of the most significant illustrated editions of the novel published between 1719 and 1920.

Review Quotes

"Evan Davis has done an excellent job of bringing together many of the strands of thought that Defoe put into The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe--his interests in travel, economics, religion, and the experience of solitude--and putting them into an attractive format....This will be a useful and indeed an exciting text for students at all levels."--Maximillian E. Novak, University of California at Los Angeles

About the Author

Daniel Defoe (1659-1661) was an English writer and journalist most widely known for his novel Robinson Crusoe, originally published in 1719. His work varied from political pamphlets to poetry, and included other novels such as Religious Courtship and The Political History of the Devil. He lived in London, England.

N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) began his artistic career as a young adult. Born in Needham, Massachusetts, Wyeth traveled the American West extensively and drew what he saw. His prolific career includes three thousand works and more than one hundred book illustrations, including those for a majority of the Scribner Illustrated Classics series.