Robinson Crusoe, a famous novel by Daniel Defoe, was first published on 25 April, 1719. The book is a fictional autobiography of the main character, who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island, encountering Native Americans, captives and mutineers, before being rescued.
The book was very well received and is often credited as marking the beginning of realistic fiction as a literary genre. Since that time numerous versions were published subsequently.
One of the most wonderful benefits of ebooks is that you can get access to early versions of classic books – for free. There are many editions of Robinson Crusoe at our favorite ebook site, Project Gutenberg. The one I’d like to share today is not the most downloaded (PG ebook #521 from 1996) – as it was added to the catalogue a couple of years later – but it contains wonderful illustrations, that will let you not only read the old good book in a convenient way, but also feel the charm of it.
The edition I’m talking about dates back to 1801, is entitled The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner, and was printed by and for G Miller in Dunbar. Most importantly, the ebook from Project Gutenberg includes eight original illustrations drawn and engraved by A. Carse of Edinburgh. You’ll see some of them, with original captions, at the end of the post.
Dr. and Eng. by A. Carse; Edin. – drawn and engraved by A. Carse of Edinburgh
Additionally, you’ll find in this edition an appendix, “The Remarkable History of Alexander Selkirk”, who lived over four years on the island near Chile. It is said that Selkirk’s story strongly influenced the novel.
E-text was prepared by Internet Archive, University of Florida, Charlie Kirschner, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team. The book is available in several ebook formats, including epub (Kobo, Nook, iBooks, Txtr, and more), mobi (Kindle), plain txt, html. You can also start reading the book online, in your browser, right away. Grab it from the link below.
Robinson Crusoe – Dr. and Eng. by A. Carse; Edin.
Leave a Reply