13 h 32 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 32 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What do you truly need when a shipwreck leaves you alone with tools, fear, and an island to survive?
Robinson Crusoe wants the sea, not the secure future his father urges him to accept. In Daniel Defoe’s adventure, that choice leads to a shipwreck and an isolated island. Supplies recovered from the wreck offer a starting point. But shelter, food, and safety depend on Crusoe’s patience, resourcefulness, and willingness to work through fear and uncertainty.
Growing grain and keeping goats give his days a purpose. They do not quiet his loneliness. Illness and fear turn his thoughts toward past choices and God’s purpose. Human company brings its own questions: Friday offers connection, yet Crusoe treats him as a subordinate. Survival becomes an uneasy exploration of faith, ownership, and the power one person claims over another.
What you’ll discover
- The work of survival Follow the patient efforts that give Crusoe food, shelter, and a foothold in island life.
- Necessity sparks invention Discover the resourcefulness Crusoe needs as he faces the daily demands of island life.
- Solitude beneath the routine Feel the loneliness that practical success cannot erase, even as Crusoe learns to provide for himself.
- Faith under pressure Explore how fear and illness lead Crusoe to examine his choices and beliefs.
- Companionship and unequal power Meet Friday and consider the colonial assumptions beneath Crusoe’s claims to authority and independence.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy survival stories, practical problem solving, and watching one person build a life from salvage will love this book, as will anyone curious about faith, solitude, and friendship.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Crusoe turns away from safety
- Escape depends on other people
- Restlessness puts prosperity at risk
- Order makes survival possible
- Illness changes his understanding of rescue
- Failure teaches him to build
- A footprint turns peace into fear
- Friday brings companionship and new questions
- Losing safety reveals its value
Who’s who
- Robinson CrusoeA restless young man from York who ignores his father's advice, goes to sea, and must learn to survive alone on an island.
- Crusoe's fatherA gentle, gouty old man from Bremen who begs his son to stay in the safe middle station of life.
- XuryA brave young slave boy who flees with Crusoe in the longboat and helps him survive the African coast.
- The Portuguese captainA generous ship's master who rescues Crusoe at sea, protects his goods, and helps him start a plantation in Brazil.
- FridayA young man rescued from cannibals who becomes Crusoe's servant, student, and loyal companion, and longs for his own people.
- PollCrusoe's parrot, taught to call out his master's name, who gives him the sound of a human voice.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe · 1719
A young man from York defies his father, then washes ashore alone with a knife and a pipe.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What would you do if you washed ashore alone with a knife, a pipe, and a little tobacco? That is where Robinson Crusoe finds himself in 1659, after a great wave throws him onto an island off South America.
The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 35 min6 h fast, 9 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 108,600 words20 chapters
- Pages
- 332 pages501 in large print
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1719by Daniel Defoe
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A father warns his son about the sea
Crusoe is born in York in 1632, the third son, and has no trade. His father wants him to study law, but Crusoe wants only the sea.
He praises the middle station of life, the place between poverty and great wealth. He warns that if his son goes, God will not bless him.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1719
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-life-and-adventures-of-robinson-crusoe.
Defoe, D. (2026). The life and adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-life-and-adventures-of-robinson-crusoe (Original work published 1719)
Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-life-and-adventures-of-robinson-crusoe.
@book{defoe2026life,
author = {Defoe, Daniel},
title = {The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-life-and-adventures-of-robinson-crusoe},
note = {First published 1719}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Robinson Crusoe about?
It follows a young Englishman who runs away to sea, is enslaved by pirates, becomes a Brazilian planter, and is then shipwrecked on an island. He survives alone for years, building a home, growing food, and finding faith.
Who is Friday in Robinson Crusoe?
Friday is a young man whom Crusoe saves from cannibals. Crusoe names him after the day of the rescue. He becomes Crusoe's servant, student, and loyal friend, and his talk of white men on the mainland brings new hope.
Is Robinson Crusoe a true story?
No, it is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719. It is told as a memoir, which makes it feel real, and it is often linked to accounts of real castaways of the period.
The author
Daniel Defoe
1660–1731 · English novelist and journalist
Daniel Defoe was an English trader, writer, and journalist. He was born in London in 1660 and died there in 1731. He wrote Robinson Crusoe and The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe in 1719. Moll Flanders, A Journal of the Plague Year, and Colonel Jack appeared in 1722.
More by Daniel Defoe
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
