Robinson Crusoe: Daniel Defoe (The Penguin English Library) - Softcover

Defoe, Daniel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141199067 ISBN 13: 9780141199061

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2012

Synopsis

The Penguin English Library Edition of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

'I walk'd about on the shore, lifting up my hands, and my whole being, as I may say, wrapt up in the contemplation of my deliverance ... reflecting upon all my comrades that were drown'd, and that there should not be one soul sav'd but my self ... '

Who has not dreamed of life on an exotic isle, far away from civilization? Here is the novel which has inspired countless imitations by lesser writers, none of which equal the power and originality of Defoe's famous book. Robinson Crusoe, set ashore on an island after a terrible storm at sea, is forced to make do with only a knife, some tobacco, and a pipe. He learns how to build a canoe, make bread, and endure endless solitude. That is, until, twenty-four years later, when he confronts another human being. First published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe has been praised by such writers as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Samuel Johnson as one of the greatest novels in the English language.

The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

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Review

"Beyond the end of "Robinson Crusoe" is a new world of fiction. Even though it did not know itself to be a 'novel, ' and even though there were books that we might now call 'novels' published before it, "Robinson Crusoe" has made itself into a prototype . . . Perhaps because of all the novels that we have read . . . the novelty of Defoe's fiction is the more striking when we return to it. Here it is, at the beginning of things, with its final word reaching out into the future." -from the Introduction by John Mullan

Beyond the end of "Robinson Crusoe" is a new world of fiction. Even though it did not know itself to be a novel, and even though there were books that we might now call novels published before it, "Robinson Crusoe" has made itself into a prototype . . . Perhaps because of all the novels that we have read . . . the novelty of Defoe s fiction is the more striking when we return to it. Here it is, at the beginning of things, with its final word reaching out into the future. from the Introduction by John Mullan"

From the Publisher

Contains an 8-page plate section with long-unavailable pictures and drawings relating to Daniel Defoe and Robinson Crusoe. Thoroughly edited and extensively annotated. Includes a 10,000-word section on Daniel Defoe's life and works, with a longer chapter on Robinson Crusoe, anecdotes, critical perspectives, adaptations and spin-offs. Lavishly produced on natural, high-quality paper, and affordably priced.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0141199067
• ISBN 13: 9780141199061
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352