Seeking Robinson Crusoe is a compelling voyage of discovery, synthesising history and myth to create a picture of the man whose very name is synonymous with the desert-island castaway. In attempting to find out who was the real Robinson Crusoe, Severin takes us to many strange places, from islands where sailors were shipwrecked or cast adrift in the days of the buccaneers to the coast of Chile. It is here that Severin begins his journey, on the island of Juan Fernandez. From here the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk (who many consider to be the prototype for Daniel Defoe's immortal hero) set sail. And Severin is interested, too, in the descendants of Crusoe's Man Friday: we are shown the lives of Miskito Indians carving out a difficult existence in the Nicaraguan swamps.
Of course, Daniel Defoe is a significant character in Severin's investigation, and he tracks down (as did his predecessor Defoe) the English buccaneer surgeon, Lionel Wafer, who had a bloody run-in with pirates and is also a significant element in the fabric of this highly unusual (and highly memorable) book. The characters you'll encounter on this journey are quite as exotic as the many locales, and all are filtered through Severin's distinctive authorial voice. --Barry Forshaw
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Used availability for Tim Severin's In Search of Robinson Crusoe
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Hardback Editions
July 2002 : Hardback
| Title: Seeking Robinson Crusoe Author(s): Tim Severin ISBN: 0-333-90556-3 / 978-0-333-90556-2 (UK edition) Publisher: Macmillan Availability: Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
June 2002 : Hardback
| Title: Seeking "Robinson Crusoe" Author(s): Timothy Severin ISBN: 0-333-90555-5 / 978-0-333-90555-5 (UK edition) Publisher: Macmillan Availability: Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
May 2002 : Hardback
| Title: In Search of Robinson Crusoe Author(s): Tim Severin ISBN: 0-465-07698-X / 978-0-465-07698-7 (USA edition) Publisher: Basic Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Paperback Editions
June 2003 : Paperback
| Title: Seeking "Robinson Crusoe" Author(s): Timothy Severin ISBN: 0-330-48677-2 / 978-0-330-48677-4 (UK edition) Publisher: Pan Books Availability: Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
May 2003 : Paperback
| Title: In Search of Robinson Crusoe Author(s): Tim Severin ISBN: 0-465-07699-8 / 978-0-465-07699-4 (USA edition) Publisher: Basic Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
2002 : Paperback
| Title: Seeking Robinson Crusoe Author(s): Tim Severin Publisher: MacMillan Availability: Amazon More details... |
Audio Editions
September 2002 : Audio Cassette
| Title: Seeking "Robinson Crusoe": Complete & Unabridged Author(s): Timothy Severin ISBN: 0-7531-1525-5 / 978-0-7531-1525-1 (UK edition) Publisher: ISIS Audio Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
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