The Shipwreck Collection (4 Books) - Daniel Defoe

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Résumé :
The Shipwreck Collection includes four novels: Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, Treasure Island, and The Island of Doctor Moreau. Robinson Crusoe follows the sole survivor of a shipwreck on a deserted island. Confronted by hunger and the elements, Crusoe builds a home, grows crops, tames wild animals, and survives cannibals and mutineers. Gulliver's Travels shows how one man can be shipwrecked, then abandoned, then attacked by strangers, then attacked by his own crew. Gulliver believes what he is told, never perceives deeper meanings, is an honest man, and expects others to be honest. Treasure Island follows the adventures of a cabin boy named Jim Hawkins. Hawkins is in for the adventure of a lifetime, as he braves dangerous waters, lives through a mutiny, and searches for buried treasure. In The Island of Dr Moreau Edward Prendick finds himself shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean, but is soon rescued by a passing boat. He is taken to the island home of Doctor Moreau, who creates human-like hybrid beings from animals.

Biographie:
Daniel Defoe (c. 1660 - 24 April 1731), born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe, which is second only to the Bible in its number of translations. He has been seen as one of the earliest proponents of the English novel, and helped to popularise the form in Britain with others such as Aphra Behn and Samuel Richardson. Defoe wrote many political tracts and often was in trouble with the authorities, including a spell in prison. Intellectuals and political leaders paid attention to his fresh ideas and sometimes consulted with him. Defoe was a prolific and versatile writer, producing more than three hundred works-books, pamphlets, and journals-on diverse topics, including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology, and the supernatural. He was also a pioneer of business journalism and economic journalism. From 1719 to 1724, Defoe published the novels for which he is famous (see below). In the final decade of his life, he also wrote conduct manuals, including Religious Courtship (1722), The Complete English Tradesman (1726) and The New Family Instructor (1727). He published a number of books decrying the breakdown of the social order, such as The Great Law of Subordination Considered (1724) and Everybody's Business is Nobody's Business (1725) and works on the supernatural, like The Political History of the Devil (1726), A System of Magick (1727) and An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions (1727). His works on foreign travel and trade include A General History of Discoveries and Improvements (1727) and Atlas Maritimus and Commercialis (1728). Perhaps his greatest achievement with the novels is the magisterial A Tour Thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724-27), which provided a panoramic survey of British trade on the eve of the Industrial Revolution.