Robinson Crusoe

ROBINSON CRUSOE

Author:

First edition:

The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner. Londres, W. Taylor, 1719.

Main illustrators:

Andersen Bergen Born Brock Browne Cruikshank Devéria Falké Finnemore Français Gavarni Grandville Kremlacek Lorioux Nanteuil Rhead Wyeth

In short:

The origins of this adventures are quite well-known: the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was stranded alone in Juan Fernandez, an island by the shores of Chili, in 1705 and his adventure caused a real stir in England. Robinson Crusoe also shipwrecked alone on an island in the middle of the ocean, and he managed to survive by recreating his English life, building homes, necessities, learning how to cook, raising goats and crops. He comes to appreciate his sovereignty over the entire island.
But after 15 years of absolute mastery over the island, a mysterious footprint appears on the sand. This frightening revellation of other human life in the island brings about new adevntures, and eventually Robinson manages to take a native, christened Friday, who becomes his servant and companion.
After twnety-seven years, a ship takes them back to England, where Robinson happily discovers that he has become rich.

Selection of edition:

Robinson Crusoe, illustrated by George Cruikshank, éd. John Major, 1831.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Célestin Nanteuil, 1836.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Achille Devéria, 1836.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by François Louis Français, 1840
Aventures de Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Gavarni, Morizot, 1861.
Robinson Crusoe, illustrated by Gordon Browne, éd. Blackie, 1885.
Robinson Crusoe, illustrated by Louis Rhead and F.A Rhead, R.H. Russel, 1900.
Robinson Crusoe, illustrated by Charles Edmund Brock, Service and Paton, s.d., 16 ill.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by V. Andersen, s.d.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by F. Bergen, Nister, 1912.
Robinson Crusoe, illustrated by Elmer Boyd Smith, éd. Houghton, 1919.
Robinson Crusoe, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth, Cosmopolitan, 1920, 14 illustrations.
Robinson Crusoe, illustrated by J. Finnemore, s.d.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated Pierre Falké, Jonquière, 1926.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Félix Lorioux, Hachette, 1930.
Robinson Crusoé, etchings by E. Froidevaux, 14 black and white illustrations, Lausanne, Librairie Payot, 1947, 208 p.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Daniel Dupuy, Delagrave, 1967.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Agnès Molnar, Hachette, 1978.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Jean-Paul Colbus, Flammarion, 1980.
Aventures de Robinson Crusoé, translated by Jacques Brécard, illustrated by Gavarni, coloured by Agnès Molnar, 7 black and white illustrations and 5 colour illustrations, Hachette, collection "Idéal-Bibliothèque", 1982, 206 p.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Josef Kremlacek, 32 black and white illustrations and 8 colour illustrations full-page, translated by Petrus Borel, Presses de la renaissance Paris/Artia-Prague, 1990, 158 p.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Liliane Crismer, Hemma, 1992.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Félix Lorioux, Hachette, 1993.
Robinson Crusoé, illustrated by Christophe Rouil, Hachette, 1993.

More about Robinson Crusoe:

The writer's name did not appear on the original edition because the reader was meant to believe the narration was an autobiography.
Sequels to the story, The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719), in which Crusoe revisits the island and loses Friday in an attack by savages, and The Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe (1729), did not gain wide recognition.
Many other writers have used Robinson Crusoe as a source for inspiration. This is the case, for instance, of The Swiss Robinson (1812) by Johann David Wyss, Jules Verne's Mysterious Island (1874), Michel Tournier's Vendredi ou la Vie Sauvage (translated into English as Friday), Robert Louis Stevenson and his Treasure Island (1883), or even more recently Coetzee's rewriting Foe. You can also find English people marooned in a desert island in The Coral Island by Ballantyne, and Lord of the Flies by Golding, but in both cases the protagonists are children.

Adaptations:

Robinson Crusoé, film directed by Luis Bunuel, in 1953.
Robinson et compagnie, cartoon film by Jacques Colombat, 1990.
Robinson Crusoé, in CD-ROM.

Critical analysis:

Marie-Hélène Weber, Robinson et robinsonnades : étude comparée de "Robinson Crusoe" de Defoe, "Le Robinson suisse" de J.R. Wyss, "L'Ile mystérieuse" de J. Verne, "Sa majesté des mouches" de W. Golding, "Vendredi ou les limbes du Pacifique de M. Tournier, Ed. universitaires du Sud, 1993.

On the Internet:

Illustrations of Robinson Crusoé on the internet (1768 edition)