FRANKLIN LIBRARY LEATHER Robinson Crusoe DEFOE

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FRANKLIN LIBRARY THE ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE by DANIEL DEFOE With the illustrations of Walter Paget Beautiful Topgrain Full Leather Limited Edition FROM "THE 100 GREATEST BOOKS OF ALL TIME" COLLECTION Shipwrecked… cast up on an uninhabited island and stranded far from w another ship might pass… facing perils alone because the rest of the crew had perished; that is the plight of Robinson Crusoe, an Englishman born in York, “of a good family,” he tells us in the opening sentence. The unlucky mariner had ignored his father’s plans for him to study law and went to sea. Now, marooned, using only his sure wits and some valuable salvage from the wrecked vessel, he has to provide all his own shelter, food and clothing. Daniel Defoe creates a masterpiece from these circumstances. A forerunner of the novel form, Robinson Crusoe is pseudo-autobiography. Defoe himself stays out of the picture while the sailor sets down his own account. We have little or no guidance from the author about how to judge his narrator’s sincerity and veracity. As a result, we do not feel that the story is put forward so that we will look at it and its narrator in a certain way. It comes through simply as an adventure. In fact, the earliest printings actually were accepted as a true account. The language is matter-of-fact, and the attention to details is as minute as a survivor might give. But Robinson Crusoe’s sensible planning and ingenious problem solving sweep us along. For the pleasure of the fantasy, we join his struggles to cope with life unaided by others or the conveniences of the 18 th century. Over the centuries on every continent readers have asked themselves: “What would I do in that situation? Would I think if that? Could I accomplish that?” At a time in the history of Western society when economic demands were first forcing men to specialize in single vocations, Robinson Crusoe reminded them how valuable were the skills of various trades; Crusoe was having to master all of them. Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 in Cripplegate, London, the son of James Foe, a tallow-chandler. Daniel signed himself variously D. Foe, de Foe, and by the name with which we are familiar; it dates back to the Flemish ancestry of his father. Though the English universities were closed to him because his father was a Dissenter (one of a faction opposed to the Church of England), Daniel received a good education at the academy run by Charles Morton, who later became the first president of Harvard College. By 1683 Defoe had set himself up as a merchant, traveling extensively in Britain and on the Continent, trading in such commodities as hosiery, tobacco, marine insurance, diving bells, brandy and civet cats. Of his various business ventures, which were generally unsuccessful, the most disastrous was the marine insurance. He had insured ships during the war with France and ended up bankrupt in 1692 – liabilities 17,000 Sterling, assets none. After opening a brick and tile manufacturing business in Tilbury, Defoe managed to pay off some of his debts, but for the remainder of his life he was insolvent. He once wrote : No man has tasted differing fortunes more, And thirteen times I have been rich and poor. This beautiful book features: Top-Grade Full Leather Tan Binding Lovely Chocolate Brown satin bookmark, sewn in Elaborate gilt lettering and ornamentation on the spine, front and back boards Gilding on all page edges, to protect against dust and moisture Decorative Chocolate Brown French silk moire end papers Beautifully reproduced illustrations Acid neutral paper, designed to last generations without discoloring or degrading Acid-free leaves Smyth-sewn for longevity, durability and readability NEAR FINE Exterior Condition FINE Interior Condition 375 Pages T are no previous owner's bookplates, names, marks or writing of any kind. The corners and edges are shar... read more

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