When Alexander Selkirk was abandoned by his shipmates on the remote island of Juan Fernandez in 1704 he could not have know that he wouldn’t see another human soul for four long years, could not have anticipated the lonely and fierce existence to which he had been condemned, nor could he have ever guessed that his plight – recreated in the form of Robinson Crusoe – would be immortalised by Daniel Defoe.
In this startlingly original book, award-winning author Diana Souhami brings new life to this story, evoking the abandoned sailor’s struggle with solitude, God and the savage new home into which he had been so brutally thrust.
In this startlingly original book, award-winning author Diana Souhami brings new life to this story, evoking the abandoned sailor’s struggle with solitude, God and the savage new home into which he had been so brutally thrust.
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Reviews
'A delight from the moment the reader opens it' Christina Hardyment, Independent.
'Souhami skilfully conjures the whiff of raki in strange ports, the comfort of nameless women and the pain of scurvy-swollen gums, opening a window onto the perilous life of the eighteenth-century privateer' Literary Review.
'Masterly. Souhami's excellent book should be read for its insight into a vanished world' Beryl Bainbridge, New Statesman.
'A book that is as hypnotic and compelling as the island that forms its real subject. A great adventure story, a great read and a real advance for the art of biography' Whitbread Judging Panel.