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Robinson Crusoe

by Daniel Defoe

Born in York, Robinson ignores his father’s advice and goes to sea.

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Original language: EnglishLevel: Advanced3,222 characters · ≈ 5 minSource: Project Gutenberg

Opening lines

I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family, though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull. He got a good estate by merchandise, and leaving off his trade, lived afterwards at York, from whence he had married my mother, whose relations were named Robinson, a very good family in that country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but, by the usual corruption of words in England, we are now called—nay, we call ourselves and write our name—Crusoe; and so my companions always called me.

I had two elder brothers, one of whom was lieutenant-colonel to an English regiment of foot in Flanders, formerly commanded by the…

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About the book

Robinson Crusoe is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719 and often credited with marking the beginning of realistic fiction. It follows Robinson Crusoe, a young man from York who defies his father's advice and goes to sea, and is later cast away on a remote tropical island for 28 years. Widely imitated across literature, film, and radio, it gave its name to an entire genre, the Robinsonade.

About the author

Daniel Defoe (c. 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, journalist, merchant and spy, seen as one of the earliest proponents of the English novel. His notable works include Robinson Crusoe (1719), Moll Flanders (1722), Colonel Jack (1722), and Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress (1724).

Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: Robinson Crusoe (CC BY-SA)

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