The novel
Robinson Crusoe tells the story of a young and impulsive Englishman that defies his parents' wishes and takes to the seas seeking adventure. The young Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked and castaway on a remote tropical island for 28 years.
Daniel Defoe's famous novel was inspired by the true story of an 18th Century castaway, but the real Robinson Crusoe island bears little resemblance to its fictional counterpart. ... Its link to Daniel Defoe's book dates back to 1704 when a British buccaneer ship called at the island. The story may be based on the true-life events of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish castaway who survived four years on a Pacific island, or Henry Pitman, a political rebel surgeon castaway from a Caribbean penal colony.
This classic tale of adventure features cannibals, captives, and mutineers. Some regard it as the very first modern novel written in the English language, launching the publishing industry.