Washed up on a desert island, the sole survivor of a shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe is stuck on an uninhabited island for the next 28 years of his life. Long before we had ‘How to Survive the Wild’ programs on TV, there was a novel by the Robinson Crusoe which taught us exactly that. Published by Daniel Defoe in 1719, it became an instant bestseller. The author had been inspired to write this fantastic adventure based on the story of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who went to sea in 1704.

   He was a castaway and spent four years on an island in the Pacific which is now more aptly named the Robinson Crusoe Island. Daniel Defoe built on the story of Selkirk, and added his own imagination and artistic license to create a well-known literary masterpiece. The story is a fictional autobiography of a young man named Robinson Crusoe. At the start of the novel, he defies his father and goes on a sea voyage, searching for adventure. He....