Robinson Crusoe is 290 Years Old

The classic English novel Robinson Crusoe was published by Daniel Defoe 290 years ago on April 25, 1719. While not the first English novel, it has certainly been one of the most influential in all of literature.

The protagonist is thought to have been named for Defoe's friend, Puritan Timothy Cruso. The story is also thought by many to be a fictional rendering of a shipwreck account concerning Alexander Selkirk (of whom William Cowper famously wrote, "I am monarch of all I survey, My right there is none to dispute; From the centre all round to the sea, I am lord of the fowl and the brute," in The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk), although Tim Severin argues convincingly that the real model for Crusoe was a castaway named Henry Pitman (In Search of Robinson Crusoe). Robert Knox is another candidate for the honors, and Severin has proposed that a Miskito Indian named Will may have served as the model for Crusoe's Man Friday. There is also controversy over the location of the island on which Crusoe was said to be marooned. These make for fascinating historical questions which continue to be discussed centuries after Defoe lived and wrote. The island is key to the story, of course, but the novel actually spans the whole globe. Crusoe spends 28 years on the island but the entire adventure recounted by Defoe spans a period of time from 1651 to 1705. The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, to which is added a map of his voyages, covers, geographically, England, Crusoe's island, Brazil, Madagascar, a great deal of southeast Asia, and even Siberia and eastern Europe.

Delving into the history and geography of the book is a worthy exercise, but I especially commend the spiritual aspects of this novel. It is the story of a prodigal son, and the spiritual lessons learned are meant to be of profit to the reader. Defoe was a devout Presbyterian, and the book is filled with themes of Providence, human nature, sin, redemption and the like, and the Bible and Christian Sabbath are given much weight -- in the unabridged editions. If it has been a while since you read this story, or if you read an abridged version, consider taking up this novel once again, or perhaps for the first time. You will not be disappointed -- although written 290 years ago, it is a timeless classic.