Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe - Hardcover

Kraske, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618568433 ISBN 13: 9780618568437

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2005

Synopsis

In 1704, Alexander Selkirk was voyaging across the South Pacific when, after arguing with the ship’s captain, he was put ashore— alone—on an uninhabited island. Equipped with little more than a musket and his wits, Selkirk not only survived in complete solitude for more than four years, but to came to be quite comfortable and happy. After being rescued by a British privateer in 1709, he took a leading role in several dramatic captures of merchant ships. Although he returned to civilization a rich man, he couldn’t find a place in society and always longed to return to the paradise of his island.

Selkirk’s well-documented adventures so inspired Daniel Defoe that they became the basis for his perennial classic, Robinson Crusoe. In an account that is every bit as fascinating as Defoe’s novel, Robert Kraske provides vivid descriptions of Selkirk’s days on the island and aboard ship, including details of the violent, bloody, and legally sanctioned pirating that went on in the early 18th century. Author’s note, glossary, bibliography, index.

About this title

About the Author

Robert Andrew Parker is a fine artist and printmaker whose work often appears in publications such as The New Yorker. His numerous children’s books include To Fly: The Story of the Wright Brothers, Across the Blue Pacific: A World War II Story, and Grandfather Tang’s Story. He lives in West Cornwall, Connecticut.
 

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–In a chronological account of the life of a privateer, two of eight chapters describe Selkirk's solitary, four-year survival on Juan Fernandez, an island 360 miles west of Chile. The book also includes the sailor's rescue and his return to Scotland. The final chapter discusses Daniel Defoe's attempt to use the man's records to create a literary work (Robinson Crusoe) that would pay his mounting debts. Pencil-drawn maps clearly show the locations of Selkirk's voyages. Reference to his temper stops in chapter one, after which he becomes a Bible-reading naturalist, wise navigator, and solitary individual longing for his island home. The book leaves out the historical possibilities that he committed himself in marriage to two women, struggled with alcoholism, and left again for sea after nearly killing a man in a fight. This compelling, if not entirely factual, book features a character about whom little has been written for children. Its greatest merit lies in the chapters that explain privateering and the war between England and Spain.–Julie R. Ranelli, Episcopal Center for Children, Washington, DC
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About this edition

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0618568433
• ISBN 13: 9780618568437
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128
• Illustrator: Parker Robert Andrew