Daniel Defoe Books

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My husband and I found this book a most interesting read, and priced so reasonably we could buy a 'his and hers' copy, so each can read a loud while the other reads along in his/her book. A riveting story of high adventure, trials to his faith in the Christian God, survival by endless work, and much more. Highly recommended. The English is old world type, harder to read than plain English, but worth the reading. The modern movie of this title is not good at all, read the book, it is amazingly good.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

The author has created a wonderful story. Defoe portrayed it with utmost detail, thinking about every aspect of human survival, and providing an uncanny amount of realism. If you like adventures, and don't mind long descriptions, then this book is for you.

This is the standard reference work. No serious collector or scholar can do without it.

This translation into Esperanto is based upon the abridged version of Robinson Crusoe from 1908 (Altemus Young People's Library Edition). It contains several beautiful illustrations from the edition of 1908. Translated by A. Krafft (1908), with corrections by Ulrich Becker (2004).

The itinerary of Daniel Defoe's heroine is absolutely not a common example of life in Paris and London in the 18th century. At that time, only 10 % of the population was older than 30 years and only one in one thousand was rich.
For Roxana, `Poverty was my Snare', `the dreadful Argument of wanting Bread'. And, `Poverty is the strongest Incentive; a Temptation against which no Virtue is powerful enough to stand out.'
What saves Roxana from a certain early death is her beauty, her sex-appeal: `In une Deshabile you charm me a thousand times more.'
With her beauty she amasses a fortune. After being a slave (`comply and live, deny and starve'), she is free (`the sweetest of Miss is Liberty'): `that while a Woman was single, that she had then the full Command of what she had, and the full Direction of what she did.'
She abhors the institution of matrimony and prefers to be a Mistress: `A Wife is treated with Indifference, a Mistress with a strong Passion; a Wife is looked upon as but an Upper-Servant, a Mistress is a Sovereign.'
But what ultimately brings Roxana down is religion and its correlative, remorse: `the Sence of Religion, and Duty to God, all Regard to Virtue and Honour given up ... (I was) no more than a [...].'
Remorse makes her look after her abandoned children, but this quest turns into a tragedy.

Like `Moll Flanders', this more moralist text constitutes a formidable portrait of the `horrid Complication' to be a woman.

Not to be missed.

Works of Daniel Defoe. (30+ Works) FREE Author's biography and Stories in the trial version.

A comprehensive collection of works by Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe's Creator.

In this documentary novel, Defoe sketches poignantly the irrational behaviour of man under extreme circumstances, when death threatens behind every corner of the street.
People turned to fortune-tellers, astrologers or conjurers who deluded them. They became the victims of `doctors' selling `infallible preventive pills'. They `swarmed to a wicked generation of pretenders to magic and black art'.
People were terrified by the force of their imagination and saw representations and appearances in clouds. Their impudence increased by using devilish blasphemous language.
Others risked their lives by stealing and plundering without any regard to the danger of infection.
Man behaved as a mad dog.

The Government encouraged devotion, public prayers, fasting and humiliation to implore the mercy of God to avert the dreadful judgment. `Many a penitent confession was made of crimes long concealed.'
Innumerable religious sects and divisions fought for the souls of the condemned. It was `altar against altar'. The discourses of the religious ministers were full of terror, prophesying evil tidings.
Unfortunately, religion was not the solution: `the best physic against the plague was to run away from it.' People who believed in predestination (`tis the hand of God, there is no withstanding it') and stayed home, were infected too and died by thousands.
For Swift `there was no apparent extraordinary occasion for supernatural operation, it was really propagated by natural means.'

The near view of death reconciled men of good principles one to another.
But as the terror of infection abated, things all returned again to the course they were in before.
More, after the plague, `people, hardened by the danger they had been in, were more wicked and more stupid, more bold and hardened, in their vices and immoralities.'

In this impressive panorama, worth a Breughel or a Hieronymus Bosch, the only weakness is the lack of some kind of plot.

Not to be missed.

This is quite an interesting book. Looks pretty much like journalism in a time the concept was not yet developed. It is very realistic and it looks like the author was actually present went the story happened, when in fact he wrote the whole thing many years after. Another interesting aspect regarding this book is that it "constructed" in a sense, our imaginary regarding middle ages epidemics. The descriptions are so vivid that they were used many, many times in the movies, paintings and other fictional pieces to characterise this kind of situations. Just for the sake of curiosity, one can read Noah Gordon's "The Physiscian" or watch the movie "Interview with the Vampire" (pay attention to the episode of the epidemics in New Orleans), to see that Defoe's influence came a long way through. Good read!

This story of the the effects of the Plague in London in 1665 should be required reading for all people of all civilized countries. Although it is fiction, he relied so heavily on documented history that his story stands up very well against modern day documentaries. It is also a gripping and easy to read book. How the Plague started, how its spread was covered up initially and why, how the government was forced to respond, what happened to the economy and the outlying regions - these things could happen any day in any year in any country.

SARS broke out just after I finished the book and I was hooked watching it spread. Everything he said started happening from the house quarantines to its effect on the Chinese economy. Having DeFoe's book on my mind when all this was happening - and while we still didn't know what was causing SARS - had me glued to the CDC web site (it had come through the US and hit Canada and I live near a big international airport). This is a very real warning and will not lose its timeliness as long as people build cities and economies. He is not just describing what happened but giving us warning and ideas for how it can be handled better.

This fictionalised journal (written decades after the event when Defoe was only 5 years old) argues its case better by a bald statement of facts, than by any elaborate literary devices. This reads like it is meant to be, a journal, bringing home the horrors of that awful time in a way that a second-hand description could never do.
Having said that, this account IS second-hand; it is only Defoe's journalistic expertise, boyhood memories and down-to-earth style that make it so believable.

BUT - anyone who reads this should not expect another Gulliver's Travels - it IS heavy going; it's not a book that one can curl up with & relax, you have to work for your entertainment.

The main point that comes across is the constant religious undercurrent, which was, I guess, typical of the time (if not of Defoe) and the willingness to attach blame for anything unusual to outsiders, or God's will, rather than examine their own circumstances (so what's changed in 339 years!?). As one of the few records of that terrible year, this deserves a place on any amateur historian's bookshelf.

Defoe, Daniel, A Journal of the Plague Year. 1722. Penguin Books, 1966.
Now that we're all reading up on bird flu, the flu pandemic of 1918, and even the Black Plague, it seems appropriate to revisit Daniel Defoe's account of the London outbreak of 1665. The author cleverly spins a fictional world based on the real one which struck England when he was only five. Using real statistics and first or second hand accounts, he brings the reader full into that world with its constant terror, its bell-ringing nightly dead carts, the screams of the dying and their families, all of which teaches us something about the fragility of society as we know it. During the pestilence and for months afterward all foreign trade was stopped between Britain and other countries; shops were shut, factories closed, and the wretchedness of the poor, which was only partially relieved by charity--primarily private--increased immeasurably. Aside from total isolation, which was virtually impossible in a mercantile economy, there were only a few ways to avoid the sickness. One mentioned by Defoe was by a woman who doused herself from head to toe with vinegar. I used this method myself in Acapulco in 1951, to avoid being bitten by sand fleas, and it works.

Defoe's narrator says that he fell ill for a few days before the pestilence reached its peak, but quickly recovered. He obviously gained immunity through this mild exposure. Samuel Pepys kept a diary during the 1660s, and casually mentions in one passage that he poured gin into his bathwater for its cooling effect. The gin, of course, killed any fleas that might have been around and Pepys survived unharmed and unaware of what had saved him from death.

Vinegar and gin will not save us from the flu pandemic that is threatened. Face masks and strictly enforced quarantine (disapproved of by Defoe) seem to be the answer, as inoculation will not likely be timely or sufficiently available. Defoe's tale shakes the reader's confidence in government's ability to help its people in a crisis; if it cannot figure out what to do in a hurricane, what will happen when disaster strikes the entire country?

Five stars.

Before readng this book my 9 year old son liked the idea of reading but had never taken it up with any gusto. However, he just could not put this book down and as a result wrote his first ever book report entirely by himself, for whch he got an A+ mark.

Now my son is hooked-on-classics. Currently he is ready the Three Musketeers and he has Treasure Island all lined up and ready to go when he is done.

This is a fine book from a great series. Many thanks.

Steve Smith
"He felt his lungs ready to burst, his head and hands shot above the surface of the water. As the pull of the sea tried to drag him back out again, Robinson dug his feet into the sand." Robinson Crusoe is about a man, who is 18 years old, is stranded on an island, and no one thinks he is still alive. He encounters many challenges including cannibals, building a new house, making tools, and making a boat.
In one scene he has to build a fortress to protect him from the cannibals. He had wood log fence, a lookout tower, a retractable ladder, and many weapons. His house was very secure from the cannibals, but took him three months to build.
I really liked Robinson Crusoe, even thought I don't really like books where people are stranded in the wilderness. I would recommend this book for all ages and usually boys would like it, but some girls would also like it.

My book was Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. This book was about a man Robinson Crusoe, he lived in England but later moved to Brazil where he made a plantation. But when his supplies run out he goes to get more in England with some of his men. But on his way there is a horrible storm that takes his ship off course and destroys the ship leaving the crew dead. But Robison survives and washes up on an uncharted island. There he must learn how to survive on his own and fight savages and mutineers. But he does make a couple of friends along the way.
The plot of this book is Robison fighting the savages and mutineers and surviving on the island for 28 years, plus he tries to make canoes and get off the island several times. The setting is the island. The main characters are Robison, Friday and the old captain of the mutineers.
Robinson is a tall, blonde and brave man, he has many skills witch include hunting, farming, carving, wildling, sowing and sculpting. Friday was a savage prisoner of war and the savages that captured him were going to eat him until Robinson saved him. He was named Friday because Robinson saved him on a Friday. Robison teaches him how to speak English and Friday teaches Robinson how to make better boats. Friday is tall, fast, strong and has black hair. And the captain was the captain of a his ship until his men mutinied him and marooned him and some of his loyal men on Robinson's island. Later Robinson, Friday, the captain and his men take back the ship and escape on it. The captain is medium sized has blonde hair is brave, smart and strong.
This was a great book and I liked this book because of all the adventure and action that took place in this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure and action. By: Alec Keiper

I saw it in my teachers shelf. I looked at the cover and it looked interesting to me. I read it in the beginning of the year 2003.

Robinson Crusoe was sailing in a violent storm and it destroyed the ship. Next day he built a fort to protect himself from wild animals. In the beginning of the story he is on a island alone. But at the end he meets some indians.
People who like adventure would like this book.

I like this book because Daniel Defoe can grasp your attention within the first two chapters. He had caught mine with Robinson Cruesoe's ways.
Defoe makes his character stand out, and lets you see the relationships in which Cruesoe makes. You feel like you know what Cruesoe is like, after only a few chapters.
The development of this book, and its characters is extraordinary. With Cruesoe, throughout the book, you see his tenacity, and how he just won't quit, he won't let go of survival. You also see how Cruesoe's friend can learn English, and understands so he can communicate.
The action in which Robinson goes through is incredible. He battles storms, and gets in fights with cannibal hunters, and fights with survival. With Cruesoe, you wonder how one man does it.
The plot, having action packed pages, out standing vocabulary, excellent development, and interesting twists, makes you sit at the edge of your seat, and want to read faster.
Though the book is fiction, it still has a moral. The moral that I think is having a lot to do with colonial times. Having no refrigerators, no computers, no television, and no microwave dinners. This book shows that man can live without modern conveniences. He doesn't need any of the fancy electronics we have made to be content.

Those reader's who have read some of the author's fictional books may be surprised to know that he has written even more factual books, all with a historical feel to them. Tim Severin has done many exciting things in his life, not least tracing the route of the remarkable Marco Polo, by motor-cycle, while still a student at Oxford. Since then he has been both explorer and traveller, author and film maker. He has recreated a number of journeys and voyages from the pages of history. Not simply for his own enjoyment but also as an aid to proving whether they were possible, or simply just myths

In this particular book Tim Severin attempts to trace back to the real Robinson Crusoe, who spawned Daniel Defoe's fictional character. The book is well written and interesting and at times reads like a travelogue, with the author taking us to many strange and sometimes inhospitable places in his attempt to solve the mystery of the island castaway.

Severin takes us, among other places to the island from which the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk sailed. Selkirk being one of the favourites for the character of Robinson Crusoe. Daniel Defoe is also paramount in the author's investigation and through Defoe Tim Severin exposes other characters from the period that may have sparked the idea for Defoe's book. Tim Severin narrates a good tale and the book is both interesting and informative.

Tim Severin is a master of his craft. For any one who has not read his other books this is a good place to start. His enthusiasm for his task, in this case finding on what, or whom, Defoe mostly likely based his book 'Robinson Crusoe' has once again resulted in a well written and readable book.

Severin's research and resulting drawing together of threads makes for a different sort of book. Rather than a mere recounting of his own voyages he seeks out the connections between people, places and history that makes the past vastly more interesting. His own particular concerns are worth following as they inevitably lead the reader to places that one may never have thought of as being connected. Severin is a skilled story teller/social historian whose books are suitable for all ages and should appeal to a wide range of interests.

This is not the first such voyage of literary detection upon which Tim Severin has embarked, though it is the first I have read.

What Severin presents you with is a narrative mix that alternates between his retellings of the primary sources, the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century published voyage-narratives that were Defoe's potential sources for his novel Robinsion Crusoe, and accounts of Severin's own "in the foot-steps" travels around the relevant locations.

In both these areas of narrative Severin's prose makes for an entertaining and compelling read. He is apposite and insightful without pretence. In his historical judgment, he occasionally seems intemperate and one-sided; his treatment Captain Shelvocke seems particularly severe. This is because, ultimately, he writes more like a journalist than an historian, but his portraits of historical characters certainly bring them to life for the reader.

In describing his contemporary travels, Severin's observations are equally acute, often poignant and occasionally hilarious. A particular treat is his account of Grand Cayman, a hugely amusing study of petty officialdom in a small, rich, self-important but essentially dysfunctional, offshore haven.

The book's conclusion is not earth-shattering or at all unexpected. Crusoe isn't Alexander Selkirk, though the latter's contemporary celebrity doubtless made him a significant influence upon Defoe. Crusoe is a fictional composite who owes a little something to a variety of historical seafarers. Severin also shows us the historical prototypes of Man Friday, a component entirely absent from Selkirk's story.

The nearest to "finding Crusoe" Severin gets is to identify the historical man to whom the fictional hero Crusoe is said to owe the most.

I won't spoil things by naming him, but I was fascinated to read about Severin's prime suspect. Although Severin never makes this connection in his book, it is blindingly obvious that his candidate for Crusoe was, in fact, also the source for Rafael Sabatini's great swashbuckling hero, Peter Blood.

None of this matters because, with Severin's excellent narrative, the pleasure is in the journey rather than the final destination.

I will tell you, however, what Tim Severin does not: Robinson Crusoe and Captain Blood are one and the same!

Tim Severin's books have never failed to engross me and this one is no exception. In it, he looks at the story of Robinson Crusoe and examines what is known about the origins of the story and then goes to explore for himself. The result is a rewarding voyage of exploration without leaving the comfort of the air conditioning.

It is widely accepted that the story of Crusoe is based upon the real life adventure of Alexander Selkirk on Juan Fernandez Island. Severin tracks down what is known about this flash in the historical pan and then explores his island and his relationships to other people who enter his story. Selkirk's adventure took place in the Pacific but Crusoe takes place in the Caribbean. Selkirk also had no man Friday to accompany him. So it is that the areas in the Carib which might have influenced Crusoe are also examined. So too are the people with whom Daniel Defoe may have been in contact.

Severin puts forth the hypothesis that the story of Selkirk may have been the inspiration for Crusoe but that the actual tale of the novel is based upon several other real life exploits of other people.

Reading this book will not solve the world's great problems nor will it add to your bottom line. It will simply broaden a few horizons and provide for some pleasurable musings.

Daniel Defoe based his famous Robin Crusoe castaway character on the real-life seafaring adventurers of men who were his contemporaries - and who did survive for years on isolated islands after shipwrecks. Tim Severin camped out on islands castaways once survived on, and searched South America for the tribes which were a model for Crusoe's companion Man Friday. In Search Of Robinson Crusoe is highly recommended history blended with adventure and travel in a revealing and thoroughly engaging.