Robinson Crusoe Paperback - 1998

About this book

From the rear cover

Thought to have been inspired by the true-life experiences of a marooned sailor, Robinson Crusoe tells the story of the sole survivor of a shipwreck, stranded on a Caribbean island, who prevails against all odds, enduring three decades of solitude while mastering both himself and his strange new world. First published in 1719, the novel has long been one of the English language's great adventure stories.
In the journal he shares with us, the endearing, goatskin-clad castaway recounts the details of his lonely existence and his many adventures, including a fierce battle with cannibals and a daring rescue of Friday, the man who becomes his trusted servant and companion. Defoe's brilliant and imaginative use of detail renders Crusoe's island world utterly convincing. In reclaiming his humanity from the savagery of his circumstances, the hero humbly acquires the qualities of courage, patience, ingenuity, and industry.

First Edition Identification

True first editions of Robinson Crusoe are exceedingly rare and valuable. When the book was first published in April 1719, people read it so often that most copies have since fallen to pieces. The first edition was published by William Taylor at the Ship, a place of publication on Paternoster Row, a street in London home to the city’s publishing trade. The octavo book is bound in crushed red morocco.