"And I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read it, that whenever they come to a true Sense of things, they will find Deliverance from Sin a much greater Blessing than Deliverance from Affliction." ― Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe recounts the tale of an English sailor named Robinson Crusoe, marooned on a remote tropical desert island for 28 years. He struggles to survive in extraordinary circumstances encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers, before being rescued ultimately.