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Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
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Robinson Crusoe

By Daniel Defoe
Introduction by John Richetti
Edited by John Richetti
Notes by John Richetti

By Daniel Defoe
Introduction by John Richetti
Edited by John Richetti
Notes by John Richetti

By Daniel Defoe
Illustrated by Coralie Bickford-Smith
Introduction by John Richetti
Edited by John Richetti
Notes by John Richetti

By Daniel Defoe
Illustrated by Coralie Bickford-Smith
Introduction by John Richetti
Edited by John Richetti
Notes by John Richetti

Best Seller

Part of Penguin Clothbound Classics

Paperback $10.00

Apr 29, 2003 | ISBN 9780141439822

Hardcover $23.00

Sep 30, 2014 | ISBN 9780141393407

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    Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
    Hardcover $23.00
    Sep 30, 2014 | ISBN 9780141393407

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    • Paperback $10.00

      Apr 29, 2003 | ISBN 9780141439822

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      Sep 30, 2014 | ISBN 9780141393407

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    About Robinson Crusoe

    The original tale of a castaway struggling to survive on a remote desert island, and one of the first novels in English

    The sole survivor of a shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe is washed up on a desert island. In his journal he chronicles his daily battle to stay alive, as he conquers isolation, fashions shelter and clothes, enlists the help of a native islander who he names ‘Friday’, and fights off cannibals and mutineers. Written in an age of exploration and enterprise, it has been variously interpreted as an embodiment of British imperialist values, as a portrayal of ‘natural man’, or as a moral fable. But above all is a brilliant narrative, depicting Crusoe’s transformation from terrified survivor to self-sufficient master of an island. This edition contains a full chronology of Defoe’s life and times, explanatory notes, glossary and a critical introduction discussing Robinson Crusoe as a pioneering work of modern psychological realism. 

    For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    About Robinson Crusoe

    Daniel Defoe’s great masterpiece, in a gorgeous new clothbound edition designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. These delectable and collectible Penguin editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design ‘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. ‘Robinson Crusoe has a universal appeal, a story that goes right to the core of existence’ Simon Armitage

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    About Daniel Defoe

    Daniel Defoe was born Daniel Foe in London in 1660. It was perhaps inevitable that Defoe, an outspoken man, would become a political journalist. As a Puritan he believed God had given him a mission to print the truth, that is,… More about Daniel Defoe

    About Daniel Defoe

    Daniel Defoe was born Daniel Foe in London in 1660. It was perhaps inevitable that Defoe, an outspoken man, would become a political journalist. As a Puritan he believed God had given him a mission to print the truth, that is,… More about Daniel Defoe

    About Coralie Bickford-Smith

    Coralie Bickford-Smith is an award-winning designer at Penguin Books, where she has created several highly acclaimed series designs. She studied typography at Reading University and lives in London.

    Product Details

    Category: Classic Fiction | Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $10.00
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Apr 29, 2003 | 288 Pages | ISBN 9780141439822

    Category: Classic Fiction | Literary Fiction

    Hardcover | $23.00
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Sep 30, 2014 | 288 Pages | 5-1/16 x 7-3/4 | ISBN 9780141393407

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    Praise

    “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

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