I was born in the Year 1632, in the City of York, of a good Family, tho' not of that Country, my Father being a Foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull; He got a good Estate by Merchandise, and leaving off his Trade, lived afterward at York, from whence he had married my Mother, whose Relations were named Robinson, a very good Family in that Country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but by the usual Corruption of Words in England, we are now called, nay we call our selves, and write our Name Crusoe, and so my Companions always call'd me. (Published 1719)I love the classics and plan to share some "opening lines" over the coming months. Comment if you like, or read for inspiration. Writing styles were different then, but were they really?
This reminds me that I have always thought about reading this one. Would definitely want to read the original, not a modernized version. The archaic use of language, including grammar, would be part of the experience. I think this one came free on my Kindle, but if not, I will mosey on over to Amazon and pick up a free copy. I love that so many books out of copyright are available for free, in e-version.
ReplyDeleteI read this as a teen. My mother had subscribed to a Classics book club and books arrived monthly. It was wonderful. I remember liking Robinson Crusoe. Seeing the opening lines, I'm surprised at the wordiness of the first paragraph. Probably a big turnoff for most readers today. But I do love the language and time warp you experience in the Classics. It takes awhile sometimes but after reading a few pages you get drawn into the flow. Would not trade that reading experience at all! Hope you get a chance to read!
ReplyDeleteThis was my first "big kid" book when I was little. In retrospect, it was too hard for me to read at first but when I DID finish it, I was so pleased with myself, ha ha. Funny how those memories stick with you.
ReplyDeleteYes, that would have been a big book to tackle as a kid. Kind of like when I tried to read the King James Bible on my own at twelve. Thanks Cherdo!
ReplyDeleteI never thought of reading this book and didn't realize he had some German blood in him. I had seen a documentary a few years back that the author based it on some true guy who was stranded on an island. Unfortunately I forget all the details
ReplyDeleteWish I had seen the documentary.. Neat that it was based on a true story.
DeleteI think it was a man called Alexander Selkirk, Birgit.
DeleteHi Julie. Thanks for visiting! Interesting the man's name. Now I'm curious :)
DeleteI read a "version" of it when I was in elementary school and the original when I was in college. I always like the idea of the story. By the way withu look for my copy since my library is in dissarray, isn't there a second part of the book where he travels to Russian?
ReplyDeleteI always liked old language. When I was twelve we had to write a story about the Mayflower and I tried my best to write a journal of a boy my age on the Mayflower in the origianl 17th century English. I got a good grade on it.
I'm not aware of a second part. I hope you can find it in your library. The Mayflower story project would have been fun to do.
DeleteWonderful opening lines for such a great book.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Appreciate your visits, Yvonne. Yes....a great book indeed.
DeleteYou have a lovely blog! I just found you!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read "Sailing Alone Around The World"? I only found it last year and was amazed that I had never heard of it!
I have read so many books from past centuries that my son sometimes tells me that my writing on my blog is...he is too polite to say outdated, but he says that my sentences are put together in an old fashioned way!
Thank you. Nice to meet you. No, haven't heard of this book, although I've read a lot of sailing sagas over the years----including Jack London's The Snark (I think that's the title). I've never minded dated language, but the brain has to adapt when first reading :)
DeleteAnd I meant to also say how much I enjoyed "Sailing Alone Around The World"! It is a true story and why we were made to read MOBY DICK when this wonderful book of non-fiction was available is beyond me!
DeleteSailing Alone Around The World- Joshua Slocum. I did a post about it last year or so, I think I will have to do another one!
When my husband and I first learned how to sail in the 1990s our friend kept me well supplied with sailing sagas. For the life of me, I can't remember a single title, as they were all borrowed. Pretty sure he never gave me this one. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Kay.
DeleteP.S. Did not think your recent post sounded old fashion at all. Funny....I had a professor ask me once, 'What on earth have you been reading?' The Classics and King James Bible I told him, and he said he could tell, but I took it as a compliment.