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Young Robinson Crusoe has a burning ambition to be a sailor.
Paying no attention to his parents’ warnings he runs away to sea to embark on a series of thrilling adventures: struggles with Barbary pirates, a shipwreck and the extraordinary meeting with Man Friday...
Roy Marsden plays the older Robinson Crusoe looking back on a life of recklessness, daring and adventure – and the survival of twenty-eight years, two months and nineteen days on a desert island.
Based on the real-life adventures of Alexander Selkirk, Robinson Crusoe was one of the very first adventure stories to be published in English literature. It remains as gripping today as it did on first publication in 1719, and this enthralling dramatisation perfectly evokes the excitement and adventure of the original book.
In Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe has created a template that has served as the inspiration for TV shows, radio programmes and films for decades. Although over 200 years old, the story is still as fresh today as it was on its first publication, exploring man’s need to survive, sometimes fuelled only by hope.
BBC Radio 4 has dramatised this adaptation of Robinson Crusoe, with the ever-versatile Roy Marsden starring as the central figure. Although Defoe’s text is entirely accessible, the judicious use of sound effects and incidental music help to draw the listener into a world of solitude, despair and joy. Marsden narrates most of the action, playing Crusoe as looking back on his 28-year exile, exploring the depths of his depression with moving sensitivity and indulging his bursts of joy with profound delight.
The story is one that most people are aware of, but many have not read. Crusoe is shipwrecked and lives alone on an uninhabited island, pitting his wits against the elements and the wildlife there. However, after 28 long years, one Friday, Crusoe’s life changes in a way he could never have predicted. Whether you are revisiting old ground or introducing a young listener to the delights of this powerful story, this audio book is the perfect way to enjoy it to the full.
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