Crusoe
It is January 1719 and Daniel Defoe, almost sixty, sits at a table, writing. He is troubled with gout and debt, but for now is preoccupied with a younger man on a barren shore – Robinson Crusoe, for which he will principally be remembered.

Several miles south, an old man, Robert Knox, is bent over a heavy volume. It is Historical Relation, his account of being held captive on Ceylon, published forty years ago after he escaped and returned to England. It has long been out of print, but a copy perhaps sits on the desk of Daniel Defoe as he writes.

Where did Crusoe come from? And what is the secret of his endurance? Crusoe explores the intertwined lives of two real men – Daniel Defoe and Robert Knox – and the character and book that emerged from their peculiar conjunction. It is the biography of a book and its hero, the story of Defoe, the man who wrote Robinson Crusoe, and of Robert Knox, the man who was Crusoe.
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Crusoe
It is January 1719 and Daniel Defoe, almost sixty, sits at a table, writing. He is troubled with gout and debt, but for now is preoccupied with a younger man on a barren shore – Robinson Crusoe, for which he will principally be remembered.

Several miles south, an old man, Robert Knox, is bent over a heavy volume. It is Historical Relation, his account of being held captive on Ceylon, published forty years ago after he escaped and returned to England. It has long been out of print, but a copy perhaps sits on the desk of Daniel Defoe as he writes.

Where did Crusoe come from? And what is the secret of his endurance? Crusoe explores the intertwined lives of two real men – Daniel Defoe and Robert Knox – and the character and book that emerged from their peculiar conjunction. It is the biography of a book and its hero, the story of Defoe, the man who wrote Robinson Crusoe, and of Robert Knox, the man who was Crusoe.
11.99 In Stock
Crusoe

Crusoe

by Katherine Frank
Crusoe

Crusoe

by Katherine Frank

eBook

$11.99 

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Overview

It is January 1719 and Daniel Defoe, almost sixty, sits at a table, writing. He is troubled with gout and debt, but for now is preoccupied with a younger man on a barren shore – Robinson Crusoe, for which he will principally be remembered.

Several miles south, an old man, Robert Knox, is bent over a heavy volume. It is Historical Relation, his account of being held captive on Ceylon, published forty years ago after he escaped and returned to England. It has long been out of print, but a copy perhaps sits on the desk of Daniel Defoe as he writes.

Where did Crusoe come from? And what is the secret of his endurance? Crusoe explores the intertwined lives of two real men – Daniel Defoe and Robert Knox – and the character and book that emerged from their peculiar conjunction. It is the biography of a book and its hero, the story of Defoe, the man who wrote Robinson Crusoe, and of Robert Knox, the man who was Crusoe.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781639360277
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Publication date: 11/15/2021
Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format: eBook
Pages: 368
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

Born and educated in America, Katherine Frank is the author of several acclaimed biographies of Emily Bront, Mary Kingsley, and Indira Gandhi. She lives in England.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Two Writing Men 1

Chapter 2 Crusoe's Secret 11

Chapter 3 'Captivated' 32

Chapter 4 Shipwrecked by Land 58

Chapter 5 'Having But Little and Wanting Lesse' 84

Chapter 6 Escape 113

Chapter 7 Another Escape 134

Chapter 8 Stranger, Author, Captain 167

Chapter 9 Captain Knox Recaptivated 192

Chapter 10 St Helena 213

Chapter 11 Captain Knox and Captain Singleton 233

Chapter 12 Ancient Mariners 253

Epilogue 287

List of Illustrations and Maps 298

Select Bibliography 300

Notes 307

Acknowledgements 329

Index 331

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