Robinson Crusoe has captured the imagination of countless readers with its vivid evocation of one man's survival on a remote island, far from the civilization he knows. Thought to be one of the first English novels, Robinson Crusoe is the timeless story of a merchant's trading voyages and adventures at sea, his shipwreck and subsequent life marooned alone. Based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, it is fascinating in its descriptions of Crusoe's ingenuity and inventiveness, his ability to make and use tools, his discovery of man Friday and his treatment of him.