The Original: RC1

Robinson Crusoe, as we all know at least from what we covered in class two weeks ago, is a story about a man who essentially is shipwrecked and lives on an uninhabited island alone for 28 years. And as we discovered in our class discussion as well, the title page of the first edition makes explicit the nature of the story more thoroughly than we are used to in the titles or title pages of works these days.

Sequels: RC2 + RC3

Defoe actually wrote two sequels to this first part, refered to now as RC2 and RC3. Here's a picture of the first editions of each which were published within the year of the RC1.




Although these sequels were often attached or included after the original story to fatten up the edition so that they could be sold at higher prices, for the purposes of our research the text we covered is the RC1 about the man on the island. In case you're curious, though, RC2 is about Crusoe's life after he returns to England, makes a family and then develops an unquenchable desire to see his island again. And, so, "farther adventures” ensue as he travels to his island and then Madagascar, China, and Siberia. RC3, then, is just a series of moral essays with Crusoe's name attached to them. Not surprisingly this part was not as popular and not included in as many of the Robinson Crusoe editions. After all it's title alludes to "Serious Reflections" not "pyrates" or "farther adventures".

Further Editions and Numerations

It’s probably no surprise to learn that the Defoe's original story of Robinson Crusoe (with the adventures and pyrates) published in 1719 was hugely popular. What may be a little surprising to learn is that this text has been published in over a thousand different editions over the last few centuries since it's inception in the early 18th century. This number doesn’t even take into account the probably tens-of-thousands of spin-offs and retellings of Defoe's story. For the purposes of our research, we tackled the publication history of Robinson Crusoe during Defoe's lifetime and through the later 18th century. And the number of known English editions published during this time comes to about 130. So, not a thousand but still a great deal of editions for so short a time. During 1719 alone, there were eight editions generated and here are what the second, third, and fourth editions by W. Taylor look like:

Alexander Selkirk

As many know, Defoe's story of Robinson Crusoe is often linked to the real life story of Alexander Selkirk. This connection wasn't made, though, until 30 years after the first publication of Defoe's text when John Entick wrote A New Naval History claiming that Selkirk had given Defoe written material which he used for the basis of Robinson Crusoe. The myth that Robinson Crusoe is in fact Selkirk's story has loomed large for many readers. Perhaps people want to believe that someone could truly survive in nature—and then civilize it. So the second half of the 18th century saw several editions that contained accounts and biographies of Alexander Selkirk. One edition published in 1800 actually contains a poem by William Cowper entitled: "Verses Supoosed to have Been Written by Alexander Selkirk."

Fattening the Text

Inclusions such as these as I explained are meant to satisfy the readers with a real account of the myth. But it is almost as likely or more likely that these were included to lengthen the respective editions as a marketing device and to be sold at higher prices. It was interesting actually to see the variations in prices (when they were actually printed on the title page) and how they increased over the decades after 1719. Other means used to increase the size of the Robinson Crusoe text were Introductions, facsimiles of the title page and frontpiece of the first edition, biographies of Defoe and bibliographies of his works, descriptions of Juan Fernandez Island, and many illustrations.

Shortenings and Abridgments

The frequency and varying natures of the publication of Robinson Crusoe during the 18th century (and beyond) is quite interesting to study as it reveals much about the taste and publication practices over this span of time. There has been fattening of the text as just discussed, but there have also been shortenings and abridgements. Some have been slightly shortened while others were completely retold in only a few pages. RC was often edited and published for children. These versions made sure to omit the cannibal scenes. One edition, with explicit apologies to Defoe, in the title, says that it “leaves out all the dull parts.” One really strange abridgment, although from the mid-19th century, is Robinson Crusoe retold in words of only one syllable by Lucy Aikin under the pseudonym Mary Godolphin.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/6936/6936-h/6936-h.htm

Good Title! And the “Robinsonade” Tradition

Robinson Crusoe was also translated into 110 foreign language editions before 1900. This meant exponential increase in the number of retellings that eventually became known as “Robinsonades,” a term coined just after Defoe’s death in 1731 by a German writer Johann Gottfried Shnabel. Robinsonades were actually most commonly found in Germany during the 18th and 19th centuries. Certain key elements of the “Crusoe Myth” such as storm, shipwreck, island living, and Friday can usually be found in these adapted stories.


The titles themselves are a hugely significant aspect of the changes in editions made and it would take a significant amount of time and space to expand on this subject. But some titles are particularly interesting.