Showing results by author "Daniel Defoe" in Literary Fiction

Widely regarded as the first English novel, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe is one of the most popular and influential adventure stories of all time. This classic tale of shipwreck and survival on an uninhabited island was an instant success when first published in 1719, and it has inspired countless imitations.

Michael Maloney reads Daniel Defoe's timeless tale of a man who has to use all his own skills to survive alone on an island. Robinson Crusoe has a great desire to see the world and, against his father's wishes, goes to sea. After surviving a terrible shipwreck, however, Robinson Crusoe discovers he is the only person on a deserted island, far from any shipping routes or rescue.

Young Robinson Crusoe has a burning ambition to be a sailor. Paying no attention to his parent's warnings he runs away to sea to embark on an extraordinary series of adventures: struggles with Barbary pirates, a shipwreck and the extraordinary meeting with Man Friday. Roy Marsden plays the older Robinson Crusoe looking back on a life of recklessness, daring and adventure - and the survival of 28 years, two months and 19 days on a desert island.

When mariner Robinson Crusoe sails from London to the African coast to Brazil, his unpredictable voyage takes a catastrophic course. The lone survivor of a shipwreck, he washes ashore on an Atlantic island. Resourceful and determined to contend with providence and nature, he finds his sovereignty empowering. Through the years he builds a civilization as a solitary man. Then he discovers a stranger’s footprint in the sand.

In this satirical faux autobiography, Moll Flanders, abandoned at birth, sets her rebellious heart on a life of independence in late 17th-century England. A strong-willed woman, she is determined to make a better life for herself, no matter what it takes: thievery, prostitution, seductions, marriages, or illicit liaisons. Born to a convicted felon in Newgate prison Moll learns to live off her wits, refusing to be a helpless victim and defying most traditional depictions of women of the era.

First published in March 1722, 57 years after the event that struck more than 100,000 people, Journal of the Plague Year is a compelling portrait of life during London's horrific bubonic plague. Through the eyes of H.F. (speculated to be Defoe's uncle, Henry Foe, from whose journals the book was supposedly adapted) we witness great grief, depravity and despair: crazed sufferers roam the streets, unearthly screams resound across the city, death carts dump their grisly loads into mass graves, and quackery and skulduggery feed on fear. But there is kindness and courage too, as mutual support and caring are upheld through the worst of days.

Beautiful, proud Roxana is terrified of being poor. When her husband leaves her penniless with five children, she must choose between being a virtuous beggar or a rich whore. Embarking on a career as a courtesan and kept woman, Roxana passes from man to man in order to maintain her lavish, glamorous lifestyle. But this life comes at a cost; she is torn between sinful prosperity and the respectability she craves.

Daniel Defoe's classic satire, read by Jan Francis. Defoe's rumbustious story tells the tale of Moll Flanders - her seductions, marriages and liaisons, and her journey to her mother in Virginia, where it becomes clear that Moll has, without realising, married her own brother. Our resourceful heroine goes to and from America meeting (and sometimes marrying) highwaymen, pickpockets, and dastardly rogues in a wonderful picaresque romp that is one of the most enjoyable and enduring classic novels.

"The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719. Just as in its significantly more popular predecessor, Robinson Crusoe (1719), the first edition credits the work's fictional protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author. It was published under the considerably longer original title: The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; Being the Second and Last Part of His Life, And of the Strange Surprising Accounts of his Travels Round three Parts of the Globe.

One of the earliest novels in English, Moll Flanders is the purported autobiography of a heroine who is undoubtedly one of the most lively, convincing, and delightful rogues in literature. Born in Newgate Prison and orphaned soon after, Moll is provided with no opportunities in life, yet she is propelled by an unrelenting drive to overcome her background of impoverishment.

Born in Newgate Prison and abandoned soon after, Moll Flanders is searching for a secure place in society. Her desire to belong propels her into all kinds of trouble from numerous marriages, bigamy and incest to theft. Charting her progress from an innocent but determined young girl to a contentedly resigned elderly woman, Defoe’s novel casts a light on the splendours and iniquities of life in 18th century England and America.

First published in 1719, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is commonly considered as the first novel in English. Based on the real-life experience of Alexander Selkirk, who spent four years on a Pacific island, it is the account of the 28-year stay of an English sailor on a nearly uninhabited island near America.

Moll Flanders is the epitome of a "bawdy" woman, who makes few excuses for herself and is unashamed of her shady past. Now converted to religion, Moll recounts her history, which includes thievery, prostitution, incest, and deception amongst a list of other necessary evils. Often shocking and always funny, Moll's story is poignant and captivating, and our charismatic narrator is sure to bring joy to a listener's ears and heart.

The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a travelogue of true incidents. Crusoe set sail from Kingston upon Hull on a sea voyage in August 1651, against the wishes of his parents, who wanted him to pursue a career in law.

A Canterbury resident, Mrs. Bargrave, is visited by her old friend and former neighbor, Mrs. Veal, who says that she would like to catch up before departing on a journey. They discuss books on death and friendship before Mrs. Veal tells her friend that her locked cabinet contains a purse filled with gold, and asks her to write a letter to her brother. Mrs. Bargrave steps out to call her daughter, and when she returns she finds Mrs. Veal standing in the street about to leave. Mrs. Bargrave subsequently looks for Mrs. Veal, but finds out that she had died the day before the visit.

Moll hones her ability to convince men that she's a wealthy widow, although throughout the course of the novel, her finances take many a dip, especially after she moves to America like her mother. While there, she continuously tries to evade the law and the harsh sentences that come with some of her money-related crimes and later decides to move back to England after getting her hands on the inheritance money that her mother left her.

Il giovane e ingenuo Thomas Dawson racconta ad un gentiluomo della presunta apparizione del Diavolo a cui avrebbe assistito. In questo brevissimo racconto, col ritmo estremamente incalzante di un dialogo diretto, Daniel Defoe mette in luce - non senza ironia - le contraddizioni alla base di simili resoconti, anticipando di ben due secoli e mezzo la moderna "psicologia dell’insolito".

Nel racconto "Il sacerdote e l’atto smarrito" - incluso in "The History and Reality of Apparitions" (1727) - Daniel Defoe riporta una vicenda narratagli dal Reverendo John Scott (1639-1695), da lui considerato una fonte attendibile. Un medico, contattato dal fantasma di un gentiluomo preoccupato per il nipote, si trova suo malgrado ad assistere quest'ultimo nel ritrovamento di un fondamentale atto di proprietà.

Daniel Defoe ha collaborato per anni alla rivista Mist’s Weekly Journal, di cui abbiamo qui il privilegio di leggere alcuni estratti. Da sempre curioso verso l'occulto, l'autore propone, attraverso i suoi articoli, una serie di rocambolesche vicende che hanno per protagonisti degli autentici truffatori, volti a sfruttare l'autosuggestione a proprio vantaggio.

Questo breve racconto, pubblicato originariamente in "The History And Reality Of Apparitions" (1727), trasmette la memoria di un fatto inquietante, avvenuto ai tempi della Prima Rivoluzione Inglese (1642-1651). Protagonista della vicenda sarebbe stato il celebre bandito James Hind, artefice di molte rapine nello Huntingdonshire. Nel tentativo di rapinare quello che all’apparenza sembrerebbe un mite allevatore di campagna, Hind si ritrova infatti di fronte ad una figura infernale, che sembrerebbe preannunciargli la sua imminente morte.