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Robinson Crusoe

143 illustrations · 23 chapters

Chapter 1Leaving home and the first shipwreck

  1. A high view of 1630s York at quiet dawn, with roofs, spires and chimney smoke
  2. The old father weeps quietly in his chamber as he speaks of the son lost in the wars
  3. A young man boards at Hull on 1 September 1651 as the master's son beckons him
  4. Flushed and half drunk, Crusoe lifts a cup of punch before the calm bright sea
  5. Idle sailors rest on an anchored collier while dozens of ships ride to the contrary wind
  6. Seamen swing axes at the leaning foremast as the master gives a grim nod
  7. The dismasted ship sinks as shocked seamen stare and young Crusoe looks at the boards
  8. On a Yarmouth street, the weary master tells the young runaway never to go to sea again
  9. On the Thames bank at dusk, young Crusoe turns from the London road to gaze at the masts

Chapter 2From slavery to flight along the coast

  1. A high view of the 1650s Thames, thick with masts under a smoky grey sky
  2. Sixty turbaned boarders from the Sallee rover pour onto the English merchantman's deck
  3. On Sallee's quay steps, young Crusoe stares at his patron's door, stunned to be a slave
  4. On the quay at Sallee, Ismael hands a pouch of powder to Crusoe in the long-boat
  5. Crusoe hooks an arm under trusting Ismael's waist, about to toss him into the sea
  6. Crusoe levels the fowling-piece at Ismael, who pleads from the sea with an open palm
  7. Crusoe aims at a huge unseen beast swimming at the boat at night while Xury cowers
  8. From the boat, Xury points out a huge lion asleep under a rock as Crusoe grips his gun
  9. From the boat, Crusoe takes aim at the sleeping lion while Xury crouches beside him

Chapter 3From rescue to planter to shipwreck

  1. From high above, a tiny long-boat with one sail glides south along the African coast
  2. Crusoe shades his eyes toward a distant sail while Xury grips the tiller
  3. The Portuguese captain waves off Crusoe's goods and will carry him to Brazil in charity
  4. On a Brazilian veranda, the young planter leans over his will, eager to sail for Guinea
  5. A lone young planter walks away between tobacco and cane toward the dark forest
  6. At grey dawn the shout of "Land!" rings out and the ship strikes the sand.
  7. Eleven men in an overloaded boat freeze as a black-green wave towers over the stern
  8. Half-drowned and alone, Crusoe staggers across the sand as a hill-high wave rears behind
  9. Alone on the cliff-top, the drenched survivor lifts his face and hands in thanks

Chapter 4Salvage from the wreck and discovery of the island

  1. A bird's-eye view of the empty shore on a calm morning, the wreck a speck far out to sea
  2. Crusoe's wet hand grips the frayed rope at the fore-chains, his only way up the ship
  3. On the loaded raft by the ship, Crusoe studies the shore, with no sail, oar or rudder
  4. Aground on a shoal, the castaway braces against the tilting chests to save his cargo
  5. From the hilltop, Crusoe sees the endless sea and realizes he is on an island
  6. Crusoe fires the island's first gun, and a screaming cloud of birds bursts from the wood

Chapter 5Salvaging the wreck until the storm takes it

  1. Shin-deep in the channel, the young castaway looks up at the tall tarred ship
  2. Back from the wreck, the castaway aims his gun at a wild cat sitting on his chest
  3. The laden raft pitches at the mouth of the cove, flinging Crusoe off balance
  4. In the cabin, Crusoe smiles wryly at useless coins and holds a knife he values more
  5. Crusoe swims for the sands through storm chop, clutching a bundle of coin to his chest
  6. After the storm, Crusoe looks out at the empty sand bank where the ship once lay
  7. Before his sail tent on the cove's bank, Crusoe studies the wooded rise for a cave

Chapter 6A fortified home and a reckoning with fate

  1. From above, the lonely island rises from marsh to a green plain under a pale rock face
  2. Crusoe stands small on a green plain beneath a house-high pale rock face
  3. Lightning whitens the sky and the castaway freezes, fearing for all his powder
  4. Alone by his tarpaulin tent, Crusoe weeps quietly over his fate on the desolate island
  5. On the sand, Crusoe points to the empty sea, sternly grateful to be alive

Chapter 7Calendar, ledger and the ordered cave

  1. From far above, the small green island lies alone in a blue sea, the wreck a tiny speck
  2. The young castaway sets his knife to a tall post to cut his first calendar inscription
  3. Crusoe looks up from his ledger toward the cave mouth, despair easing into quiet hope
  4. Crusoe looks up from his ledger at cave shelves of tools, nails, books and muskets
  5. From the hilltop, Crusoe shades his eyes at a glint on the sea, taking it for a sail

Chapter 8Journal: the first months of settling

  1. A bird's-eye view of the small green island in a grey, rain-beaten sea, the ship a speck
  2. Half-drowned and alone, the young castaway looks up at the unknown cliffs in despair
  3. Under a lightning-split sky, the castaway shields his powder barrel at his tent mouth
  4. In a cloud of dust, the castaway stares at the fallen earth that would have buried him
  5. Kneeling in the rock's shade, the castaway weeps over sprouts of English barley and rice
  6. Just over his new wall, Crusoe staggers on the cracking plain as the earthquake strikes
  7. A tiny castaway crouches on the plain as a black storm tears up the shore trees

Chapter 9Illness, dream and repentance

  1. From above, the lone island after the quake shows its wreck and a half-circle of stakes
  2. At low tide, Crusoe stands before the heaved-up wreck, seeing he can walk right up to it
  3. In a fever dream, a fiery figure with a spear judges the terrified sick castaway
  4. Feverish in his cave, Crusoe weeps and cries out to God in his first prayer in years
  5. In the lamplit cave, the sick castaway kneels by his bed and prays for the first time
  6. Pale after his fever, Crusoe kneels in the cave and gives thanks for his recovery
  7. In the lamplit cave, Crusoe flings down the Bible and raises both hands to heaven in joy

Chapter 10Exploring the island, learning the seasons

  1. The island from above in the dry season, a tiny stake enclosure its only human trace
  2. In the wooded valley, Crusoe stops in wonder at ripe melons and hanging grapes
  3. From a gentle rise, the young castaway looks up the green vale toward its bright head
  4. On the first anniversary of his landing, Crusoe kneels forehead to earth in his cave
  5. Crusoe stands between his bare, cracked first plot and thriving green barley and rice
  6. Three years on, the ring of cut stakes has grown into a living canopy over the bower.

Chapter 11Crusoe's journey across the island and his third year

  1. A high view over the calm western sea toward Crusoe's green, untouched island
  2. A young castaway and his dog stand at the savannah's edge, gazing west over the calm sea
  3. Crusoe looks down on a pale western beach crowded with turtles, penguins and sea-fowl
  4. By a goat-fat lamp, a castaway's finger rests beneath a verse saying he is not forsaken
  5. At his cave table, Crusoe rests a hand on the open Bible, his lips pressed shut
  6. Three dead birds hang in chains from hedge stakes, a warning that has saved the barley
  7. Crusoe's hands rub barley ears over a basket beside a golden heap and a pile of rice

Chapter 12Crafts, a failed canoe, and reconciliation

  1. At dawn, the castaway turns his first hard-burnt pipkin, its sand-melted glaze shining
  2. Crusoe bends over steaming broth in his first clay pot as Poll watches from his perch
  3. Crusoe rests a hand on his vast cedar dugout, which points to a creek it cannot yet reach
  4. In an open drawer, mould-spotted coins lie forgotten beneath an idle sun-browned hand
  5. At the cave mouth, Crusoe looks over his green plain and the sea, quiet and thankful
  6. The castaway looks down with rueful pride at his goat-skin cap, waistcoat and breeches
  7. Crusoe folds his goat-skin umbrella as two spoiled frames lie on the sand at his feet

Chapter 13The boat voyage and the tamed goats

  1. An empty, sunlit island lies small and green in a wide blue sea.
  2. In his canoe, Crusoe sees how far the surf-ringed ledge runs toward the pale sandbar
  3. Adrift far out at sea, the castaway stretches his arms toward the small green island
  4. Crusoe sleeps in his bower as Poll, perched on the hedge, calls his name
  5. Crusoe finds a fierce old he-goat in one pit and three huddled kids in the next
  6. At the gate of the nearest pen, the castaway feeds barley to three kids

Chapter 14The footprint in the sand

  1. The lonely green island lies small in a wide blue sea, a tiny figure by the pale rock
  2. On the hill crown, Crusoe admires himself in his goat-skin cap, breeches and buskins
  3. From the hill at evening, a tiny watcher sees the current return, farther from shore
  4. A single bare human footprint lies crisp in smooth pale sand
  5. Alone on the sand, the goat-skin-clad castaway freezes above a single bare footprint
  6. At dawn, the young castaway kneels beside his plank bed with his hands clasped and his head bowed.
  7. A sun-browned finger rests under a line of comfort in the worn open Bible at dawn
  8. Crusoe sets his bare foot by the stranger's print, which is far larger than his own
  9. The castaway's stakes have grown into a green wall; only the rock's pale crest shows

Chapter 15From Cannibal Shore to the Cave

  1. A high view of Crusoe's small green island alone in a calm blue sea, the mainland far off
  2. Frozen, Crusoe gazes down a white beach strewn with human bones toward the fire circle
  3. Crusoe doubles over on the bone-strewn shore, one hand flung out to ward off the sight
  4. Above the cannibal shore, Crusoe lays his guns aside and kneels in thanks to God
  5. Two pale glints hang low in the black far corner of the cave, watching the entrance
  6. Crusoe raises a firebrand and finds the devil in the dark is only an old dying he-goat
  7. Crusoe straightens up inside the hidden grotto after the long crawl, a candle in each hand.

Chapter 16Savages' fire and the Spanish wreck

  1. The small green island lies alone on a pale sea at December dawn, the mainland far off
  2. From the hilltop, nine tiny figures sit round a smoking fire on a long pale beach
  3. On a stormy night, Crusoe lights a hilltop beacon for the unseen ship he heard firing
  4. From a high dark rock, the young castaway looks out at the broken wreck in white surf
  5. On the high rock, Crusoe presses his fists to his chest, longing for one saved companion
  6. Crusoe's small canoe approaches the Spanish wreck jammed between two black rocks
  7. On the Spanish wreck, Crusoe finds two drowned sailors locked in each other's arms
  8. Among Spanish chests, Crusoe holds a pump and eyes his bare feet; silver lies ignored

Chapter 17Crusoe's dream comes true: Friday

  1. Crusoe's whole island from high above: a small green shape ringed by surf in a bright sea
  2. Far below the hilltop, five canoes lie on the sand as thirty dancers circle a fire
  3. A tiny runner races down the beach toward the viewer, far ahead of three pursuers
  4. Three bleached skulls and scattered bones rest in the blackened fire pit on pale sand
  5. Beside his small canvas tent, Friday looks up at his master with a bright, trusting smile

Chapter 18Friday's education and the plan to leave

  1. After the first gunshot, Friday kneels and clings to Crusoe's legs, pleading in terror
  2. The castaway lowers his smoking gun as Friday, wide-eyed, watches a green parrot fall
  3. Crusoe listens in sober silence as Friday admits his people also eat captured men
  4. Friday holds his hands side by side for two canoes; Crusoe feels the first hope of escape
  5. Friday leans in to ask the unanswerable question, and Crusoe draws back, baffled
  6. By the broken boat, Friday spreads ten fingers to show seventeen rescued Europeans
  7. Friday leaps with joy toward the mainland of his homeland as Crusoe quietly watches
  8. On the hazy hilltop, Friday, hand on chest, vows to make his people love Crusoe

Chapter 19Friday's boat and the rescue of two captives

  1. The small green island floats in a calm blue sea, smoke rising from its slope
  2. Friday vaults the fence crying that three canoes have landed, and Crusoe rises, startled
  3. Through Crusoe's spyglass, a bearded European lies bound with rushes on the sand
  4. Above the cannibal shore, Crusoe and Friday kneel side by side with muskets raised
  5. Crusoe and Friday fire into the feasters, who leap up in panic amid white gunsmoke
  6. On the beach, Crusoe kneels over the gasping Spaniard and saws through his rush bonds

Chapter 20Mutineers land; captain rescued

  1. The Spaniard points to the crops and advises waiting another harvest; the castaway nods
  2. From the hilltop, Crusoe spots an English ship at anchor and a long-boat heading ashore
  3. Armed seamen leap from an English long-boat and drag three bound prisoners onto the sand
  4. Two marooned men fire on the sleeping mutineers as the captain holds his musket unfired
  5. The captain raises his reversed musket over a wounded mutineer who pleads for help

Chapter 21The ship recovered by stratagem

  1. Ten mutineers stop at the holed long-boat while Crusoe and the captain hide in the wood
  2. Seven mutineers huddle under a tree on the hill as their boat rides at anchor far out
  3. The captain and Friday spring up with muskets as the boatswain walks toward them
  4. Mutineers lay muskets in the mud as Will Atkins kneels and begs the captain for quarter
  5. The wounded mate pushes through the round-house door, pistol aimed into the dark cabin

Chapter 22Leaving the island, wealth, wolves in the Pyrenees

Chapter 23Friday's bear, the wolves, return home