The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe, 1719

Adventure

A restless young man's voyages lead towards an isolated life in which survival depends on labour and close observation.

Read the book Contents

Length: 20 chapters
Reading time: About 8 hr 27 min
Words: 120,633

About the book

Robinson Crusoe begins by recalling his family and the advice he resisted in order to go to sea. His appetite for a different life sets movement against the security his father recommends. The account looks back on those choices with an insistent desire to interpret them.

The island premise brings practical tasks into the centre of the narrative: obtaining food, making shelter and taking stock of resources. Crusoe's detailed voice joins physical work to reflection about conduct and belief. The result is an adventure concerned with how a life can be organised as well as how danger can be survived.

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Adventure

This edition

Text from Standard Ebooks, who proofread and typeset it and dedicate their edition to the public domain. Daniel Defoe died more than 70 years ago, so the work is out of copyright in the UK.