Title

Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-19-2019

Abstract

Robinson Crusoe is often cited as the first novel in the English language. But Defoe's novel can better be understood as part of an early tradition of world literature that reflects a rapidly changing global economy in the early eighteenth century. In a tradition of long prose fiction, Defoe cites and revises a global literary experience for a local English market. He draws upon a newly emergent London publishing culture that offers new readers translations of stories from around the world. The appeal of the novel quickly outpaces the national and linguistic boundary of England and offers writers and readers across the globe a common experience of both the isolation of modernity and the unexpected connections.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118635193.ctwl0159

Additional Files

COinS