Daniel Defoe 
Robinson Crusoe 

Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The book is a fictional autobiography of the title character Robinson Crusoe. Shipwrecked in a storm at sea, Robinson Crusoe is washed up on a remote and desolate island. As he struggles to piece together a life for himself, Crusoe’s physical, moral and spiritual values are tested to the limit. For 24 years, he remains in solitude and learns to tame and master the island, until he finally comes across another human being. An ordinary man struggling to survive in extraordinary circumstances, Robinson Crusoe wrestles with fate and the nature of God.

Despite its simple narrative style, Robinson Crusoe was well received in the literary world and is often credited as marking the beginning of realistic fiction as a literary genre. Additionally, it paints a fascinating portrait of the age-including references to slavery and Europe’s view of the ‘New World’.