Robinson Crusoe
Defoe's castaway adventure, often credited with marking the start of realistic fiction.
Published on 25 April 1719, the novel follows Robinson Crusoe, born Robinson Kreutznaer, through 28 years on a remote tropical island near Venezuela and Trinidad, where he meets cannibals, captives and mutineers before rescue. It may draw on the real castaway Alexander Selkirk. The original edition named Crusoe as author, so many readers took it for a true travelogue. Wohlleben loved it as a child but now notes its colonial mindset and racist stereotypes.
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Peter Wohlleben
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. When I was young, reading was the only way to dream of distant worlds. But at the time, I wasn't aware of the colonial mindset and racist stereotypes present in the novel.
Article · May 2026
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