30 Sep: The Shipwrecked Mr. Crusoe
Literature’s most famous castaway, Robinson Crusoe, was washed up on a desert island – where he would remain for 28 years – on 30th September, 1659.
By selecting this date, author Daniel Defoe ensured that his fictional protagonist’s fate pre-dated the real-life estrangement of Royal Navy man Alexander Selkirk, who was stranded some 46 years later: 14 years prior to Defoe writing his novel.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how his story pioneered not only the English novel, but also the movie trailer; ask whether Crusoe’s narrative voice sounds like an authentic young man of the period, or betrays the fact that Defoe was nearly sixty when he created him; and dig around in the writer’s early career (including, but not limited to, creating perfume from civets)…
Further Reading:
• Daniel Defoe profile (The British Library): https://www.bl.uk/people/daniel-defoe
• ‘Debunking the Myth of the ‘Real’ Robinson Crusoe’ (National Geographic, 2016): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/robinson-crusoe-alexander-selkirk-history
• The Shipwreck scene from ‘Robinson Crusoe’ (1927):