Daniel Defoe

Moll's adventures in eighteenth century England and the American colonies, from her birth in prison, through five marriages, her life as a thief and a harlot, and finally a penitent

The sole survivor of a shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe endures twenty-seven years of solitude and deprivation on a remote Caribbean island, his only companion an escaped prisoner who he names "Friday." Together, Crusoe and Friday encounter cannibals, captives and mutineers, before being rescued by pirates and returning home. Written by Daniel Defoe in 1719, The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is thought to be inspired by the true story of Scottish...

Daniel Defoe's faith-filled The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe finds Crusoe bored with his prosperity and consumed by an irresistible longing to return to the island he left many years before. Along with his trusty servant and companion, Friday, he embarks on a harrowing high-seas adventure that takes them to China, over the Russian steppes, and into Siberia. Readers will find themselves captivated by this sequel, which is every bit as engaging...

This classic eighteenth-century work on the Golden Age of Piracy includes stories of Black Bart, Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, and many others. How did we come to picture pirates donning peg legs, wearing eye patches, and burying treasure? This book, dating back to 1724, features biographies of the notorious buccaneers of the Golden Age of Piracy, and the history, stories, and legends that surround them. Published under the name Capt. Charles Johnson,...

Daniel Defoe's great talent as a writer was to speak in the voices of others. Such was the authenticity of this memoir of a 17th-century soldier of fortune that for over half a century it was considered to be genuine. The struggle of the narrator to turn his observations into facts and to make certain history out of his uncertain experiences combines with vivid descriptions of the battles of the Civil War to give the narrative its dramatic qualities....

Beginning with an account of her first marriage to a man she describes as a "fool," Roxana tells the tale of her unusual life in a poignant first-person narrative. As her respect for her husband's intelligence and character decline, Roxana and her husband grow apart, and he eventually abandons her to fend for herself. As a result, Roxana forsakes her virtue and turns to a life of prostitution. At first she does this only to ensure her survival, but...

Robinson Crusoe, la obra del autor Daniel Defoe. Cuando en Inglaterra se conoció la historia real de Alexander Selkirk, un marinero que fue abandonado en una isla desierta cerca de las costas de Chile y que vivió varios años en la soledad hasta ser rescatado, inspiró a Daniel Defoe a hacer otra de sus novelas basadas en hechos reales, aunque presentándolas como si fueran una descripción periodística de los sucesos. En el caso de Robinson Crusoe,...

Excerpt: "When Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe, nearly two hundred years ago, boys had more time on their hands, fewer books and fewer games than they have now, and they, as well as their fathers, read it and loved it. And when your father and I were boys-though that is rather less than two hundred years ago-we too used often to read it. But boys nowadays do not seem to read Robinson Crusoe as they used to do. It is too long, they think, and there is...

(Excerpt): "Marlborough's military career spanned two periods. Aware of the danger of the "exorbitant power of France" and the corresponding danger to the Protestant religion, disgusted with James's actions at the Gloucester shipwreck and in dealing with Scottish Protestants, Marlborough had joined the bloodless shift to William of Orange. For William, he led the English forces in Flanders in 1689 and in Ireland in 1690; in 1691 he was in charge of...

This edition of Moll Flanders includes a Foreword, Biographical Note, and Afterword by Nancy Springer. The conditions of Moll Flanders' birth could not have been more depressing. Her mother was a petty thief who was caught and sent to the notorious Newgate prison in London. It was in that prison that Moll was born. Deemed an orphan, Moll was later sent to apprentice as a servant with a respectable family. Moll has designs on a life better than serving...