'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. The Penguin English Library — 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

This title includes: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe — Robinson Crusoe is stranded on an island, totally isolated, until twenty-four years later when he unexpectedly meets another human. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson: Jim Hawkins finds a treasure map and sets off in search of buried treasure. But treacherous Long John Silver has other ideas for the treasure... Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson: David Balfour leaves Scotland to seek his fame and fortune, but upon meeting a mysterious relative, dark family secrets are uncovered.

'I made him know his Name should be Friday, which was the Day I saved his Life... I likewise taught him to say Master'. Robinson Crusoe's seafaring adventures are abruptly ended when he is shipwrecked, the solitary survivor on a deserted island. He gradually creates a life for himself, building a house, cultivating the land, and making a companion from the native whose life he saves. Daniel Defoe's enthralling story-telling and imaginatively detailed descriptions have ensured that his fiction masquerading as fact remains one of the most famous stories in English literature. On one level a simple adventure story, the novel also raises profound questions about moral and spiritual values, society, and man's abiding acquisitiveness. This new edition includes a scintillating Introduction and notes that illuminate the historical context.

«Roxana (1724), Defoe's last and darkest novel, is the autobiography of a woman who has traded her virtue, at first for survival, and then for fame and fortune. Its narrator tells the story of her own «wicked» life as the mistress of rich and powerful men. Endowed with many seductive skills, she is herself seduced: by money, by dreams of rank, and by the illusion that she can escape her own past. This edition uses the rare first edition text, with a new Introduction, detailed Notes, textual history and a map of contemporary London.»

A shipwreck, a sole survivor, a deserted island — What could be more appealing to children than Robinson Crusoe's amazing adventure? Set in the 17th century and unfolding over a 30-year period, it offers plenty of adventure and suspense while painting a fascinating portrait of the age — including references to slavery and Europe's view of the New World. Abridged for easier reading and carefully rewritten, with Classic Starts[trademark], young readers can experience the wonder of timeless stories from an early age.

From its first publication in 1719, Robinson Crusoe has been printed in over 700 editions. It has inspired almost every conceivable kind of imitation and variation, and been the subject of plays, operas, cartoons, and computer games. The character of Crusoe has entered the consciousness of each succeeding generation as readers add their own interpretation to the adventures so thrillingly 'recorded' by Defoe. Praised by eminent figures such as Coleridge, Rousseau and Wordsworth, this perennially popular book was cited by Karl Marx in Das Kapital to illustrate economic theory. However it is readers of all ages over the last 290 years who have given Robinson Crusoe its abiding position as a classic tale of adventure.