The sole survivor of a shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe is stranded on an uninhabited island far away from any shipping routes. With patience and ingenuity, he transforms his island into a tropical paradise. For twenty-four years he has no human company, until one Friday, he rescues a prisoner from a boat of cannibals.
Defoe's immensely popular and influential work, published in 1719, tells the story of an English mariner, the sole survivor of a shipwreck, who manages to survive for 28 years on a deserted island in the South Pacific. Defoe's depiction of the hardships and ingenuities of the castaway are masterly, as is his description of loneliness and isolation. He builds a house, teaches himself to grow corn and barley, and bakes bread. When a band of cannibals invades his island, he drives them away, but rescues one of their prisoners--the faithful Friday--who remains with Crusoe until their eventual rescue and return to England.
Following the success of Robinson Crusoe, Defoe composed a further tale of high adventure at sea. The result was this lesser-known work, an inspired and hugely enjoyable "first-hand" account of pirate life. In response to an alleged letter accusing him of the worst possible deeds, Captain Avery pens a reply seeking to exonerate himself from all such charges. He sees fit to provide a full account of life as captain of a pirate ship. Yet far from being the archetypal, murderous villain, his letters reveal him simply to be a lovable rogue—albeit one with something of a penchant for fine jewels. With a Foreword by Peter Ackroyd.
En la época de Defoe existía un intenso tráfico marítimo y el caso de náufragos que habían sobrevivido largo tiempo abandonados a su suerte en una isla desierta no era infrecuente. Al parecer, Defoe basó su relato en la auténtica historia de Alexander Selkirk, un marinero escocés que se había enrolado en 1704 en un galeón capitaneado por el célebre bucanero William Dampier. Selkirk, después de una acalorada discusión con Dampier, pidió él mismo ser abandonado en la pequeña isla de Juan Fernández, a 650 kilómetros de la costa de Valparaíso donde sobrevivió cinco años.
El presente volumen reúne una serie de relatos en los que el popular escritor londinense Daniel Defoe nos muestra sus habilidades como narrador de historias de fantasmas o como reportero de un caso que asombró y estremeció por igual a las gentes de la ciudad de Londres allá por el año 1724.
Daniel Defoe was nearly 60 years old when he published ROBINSON CRUSOE, his first novel, in 1719. The story of an English mariner, sole survivor of a shipwreck, who manages to survive for 28 years on a deserted island in the South Pacific, ROBINSON CRUSOE is a stirring depiction of loneliness and isolation as Crusoe builds a house, teaches himself to grow corn and barley, and bakes bread. The book was based on the true tale of a sailor named Alexander Selkirk, but Defoe inserts his own preoccupations into the story. Long fascinated by travel, questions of identity, and the minutiae of daily ...
Classic 1722 account of the epidemic that ravaged England nearly 60 years earlier. Defoe used his considerable talents as a journalist and novelist to reconstruct -- historically and fictionally -- the Great Plague of London in 1664-65. Written as an eyewitness report, the novel abounds in memorable and realistic details.
La vida y extrañas y sorprendentes aventuras de Robinson Crusoe, publicada en 1719, no es solo uno de los clásicos más leídos de todos los tiempos, sino que, en rigor, se trata de la primera de las grandes novelas inglesas, un texto fundacional. La historia es de todos conocida: Robinsoe Crusoe naufraga y acaba, solo, en una isla desierta. Poco a poco descubrira que no esta tan solo en la isla, habitada tambien por canibales. Con los restos de su barco, construira una cabaña y una balsa. Salvara de los canibales a un nativo, Viernes, que se convertira en su fiel escudero.
Robinson Crusoe is at sea when there is a great storm. His ship goes down and his friends die. The sea throws Crusoe onto an island. Are there other people on it? How will he survive? Will he be rescued? A classic tale of survival which is based on a true story.
...se acercó, poco a poco, arrollidándose cada diez o doce pasos para manifestarme su reconocimiento por haberle salvado la vida... Finalmente, habiendo llegado ya cerca de mí, se arrojó de nuevo a mis pies, beso la tierra y cogio uno de mis pies, que puso sobre su cabeza...
