Robinson Crusoe (Everyman's Library)

Published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe has long been celebrated as the first great English novel. Based on the account of a shipwrecked sailor, it tells the story of one man rediscovering himself and the world in a solitude he thinks complete until his encounter with Man Friday.

Distinguished by its strong, pure style, and by a delight in factual precision, Robinson Crusoe is still the most compelling book we have from the Age of Exploration. The impact of Daniel Defoe’s prose on the development of English writing has often been compared to that of the King James Bible; and the power of this fable of human loneliness has been felt by readers of every age over the last three hundred years.