17th-century 18c 18th-century adventure book boys britain british british-authors british-fiction british-literature c18 castaway children childrens childrens-fiction classic classic-fiction classic-literature classics daniel-defoe defoe eighteenth-century england english english-literature fantasy fiction historical-fiction home imperialism island islands juvenile literary-fiction literature novel novels roman ships shipwreck shipwrecks survival travel young-adult

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.

@ImNotGilligan Youd think in a diary about solitude Id write something emotional, but nah, thatd be so emo. Im not in the mood.

From Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less