Perhaps the best-known English version is by William H. Kingston, first published in Davenport Adams — and Mrs H. Paull As Carpenter and Prichard write in The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature Oxford, , "with all the expansions and contractions over the past two centuries this includes a long history of abridgments, condensations, Christianizing, and Disney products , Wyss's original narrative has long since been obscured.
Although movie and TV adaptations typically name the family "Robinson", it is not a Swiss name; the "Robinson" of the title refers to Robinson Crusoe. The German name translates as the Swiss Robinson , and identifies the novel as belonging to the Robinsonade genre, rather than as a story about a family named Robinson.
The novel opens with the family in the hold of a sailing ship, weathering a great storm. Only the family is saved when the vessel breaks apart on a reef and the crew and other passengers jump into lifeboats without waiting for the little family to join them. As the ship tosses about, the father prays that God will spare them. There is plenty of food on board, and after they eat, the boys go to sleep, leaving the father and the mother to guard them.
The ship survives the night, and the family finds themselves within sight of a tropical island. The next morning, they decide to get to the island they can see beyond the reef. With much effort, they construct a vessel out of tubs. After they fill the tubs with food and ammunition and all other articles of value they can safely carry, they row toward the island. See all books by Johann D.
About Johann D. Wyss Johann David Wyss was, like the narrator of his famous story, a Swiss pastor who had four sons. Product Details. Inspired by Your Browsing History. The Sea-Wolf.
Snow Goose. Paul Gallico. Riders of the Purple Sage. Tarzan of the Apes. Edgar Rice Burroughs. James Fenimore Cooper. The Deerslayer. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Around the World in Eighty Days. A High Wind in Jamaica. Richard Hughes. Robinson Crusoe. Daniel Defoe. The Ox-Bow Incident. Hold your tongue, replied his eldest brother. Do you not know that it is our duty not to prescribe to God, but to wait for his assistance with patience and humility?
Well spoken, my boy, said I; but you should not have reproved your brother so sharply. The eldest instantly ran and kissed the innocent little creature. Soon after, night set in: the tempest and the waves continued their fury; the planks and beams of the vessel separated in many parts with a horrible crash. We thought of the boats, and feared that all they contained must have sunk under the foaming surge.
It is not always easy to see why certain verbal alterations were made. Presumably the adapter supposed the new text read more smoothly or easily. The excision of some religious passages was probably concerned with reducing the Calvinistic tenor of the original.
However, these do not correspond exactly to Montolieu, who has a total of thirty-six chapters. The reason is probably that alcohol was regarded with disfavour and that the treatise on European fruit-trees was considered an unnecessary digression. Nearly two years have elapsed without our perceiving the smallest trace of civilized or savage man; without the appearance of a single vessel or canoe upon the vast sea by which we are surrounded.
Ought we then to indulge a hope that we shall once again behold the face of a fellow-creature? We encourage serenity and thankfulness in each other, and wait with resignation the event! She had dedicated her original translation to her three grandsons and two great-nephews, and it appears that their enthusiasm and that of other young French readers led the baroness into penning a continuation of the story.
In this way an extended French text by Montolieu actually predates the authentic German continuation that Johann Rudolf Wyss brought out in two further volumes only in This German second edition simply adds these two new volumes to those already published in and appends various editorial comments.
In the preface to volume 4 Wyss alludes to the greater popularity of the work in France and England than either Switzerland or Germany and then comments on the Montolieu edition:. In the French [edition] the merits of the author, Madame de Montolieu, are not small; she has enriched the tale with many details, made additions, adapted the tone to suit French youngsters and, lastly, provided the whole with a continuation that contains many excellent things.
He refers to the fact that the English edition contains notes on natural history taken for the most part from the French. He also observes that they are furnished with more copper-plates than the German edition, but that they all lack scientific illustrations, which actually would be the most useful. In this respect the German edition of which came after J. Even so, many of the illustrations depict incidents in the story, and those that portray animals, birds, plants, etc.
Judging from the number of chapters and their length, this is probably based on the German edition of , since the edition of has fewer, but much longer chapters. Naturally enough, personal names were adapted, but only minimally with Ernst and Franz, who became Ernest and Francis, while Fritz and Jack Jakob retained their German forms. It was, of course, a source of future confusions with later publishers that the book was written by J. Wyss and edited by J. Wyss, so the book may on occasion be attributed to a non-existent J.
What matters here is the story, and that can be manipulated, abridged or amplified, and details can be changed without any consultation with the author. Indeed, they will be completely unaware of the multiplicity of forms in which the story has circulated. How many will have any idea that in Mary Godolphin produced a version in words of one syllable?
She did this also for Robinson Crusoe. By the time of the thirteenth edition it was being published by the combined firms of Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. These included not simply modifications of the well-known version, but also new translations based on material that had not been available to Godwin. A full German text had been available from , but new versions in French also played an important role.
There may have been an earlier edition. It is more concerned with adventure than with further discoveries in natural history.
It focusses first of all on an accident that befalls the mother and on the devotion that the sons display towards her. Later, mother and Francis disappear, but are eventually discovered in the care of missionaries and a tribe of savages.
This version concludes with the arrival of a ship commanded by Captain Krusenstern and with the Zurich astronomer Horner on board. Ernest, the most passionate scientist among the four sons, departs with the ship, anxious to make observations concerned with the transit of Venus.
The rest of the family remain in contentment on the island. The leader of the missionary team is called Willis, and he provided the focus for a continuation of the story by Adrien Paul called Le Pilote Willis , of which an English translation was published in by C. The shipwreck takes place between Le Havre and Philadelphia round about lat. The translation is stated to be unabridged. The book is copiously illustrated with black and white engravings.
It is clear from remarks of this kind that people in the latter half of the nineteenth century were aware that moral positions occupied at the beginning of the century were not necessarily their own and that aspects of the text needed to be altered accordingly. The basic thrust of the book, however, still remained relevant and attractive. The German text was adapted by J.
The pastor father is given the name Vetli, while the boys differ from their originals in that Ernest is the oldest at 16, Fritz is 14, Jack 8 and Franz 6. Francis' much-maligned "pirate alarm" is the only thing that warns them of the surprise attack. They begin defending the fort but are soon down to only a few shots with their muskets. At this critical moment, a British ship appears on the horizon captained by Captain Moreland and fires its cannons at the pirates and their ship. They retreat and make a desperate escape, and the Robinsons rejoice.
Father, Mother, and Francis choose to remain on the island while Captain Moreland notes that this island will likely be a colony legally named New Switzerland where colonists will soon settle given the fear of Napoleon Bonaparte attacking Switzerland , which was the original reason for the Robinsons' departure , and Father will be recommended as New Switzerland's first territorial governor.
As for the rest of the family, Ernst chooses to go to England with the rescuers in order to enroll in a university to continue his studies while Fritz and Roberta plan to marry and make New Switzerland their home. Walt bought the rights to RKO's film and eventually, its copyright was renewed by his company on January 10 , The film was released on December 10 , It received generally positive reviews by critics and gained large revenue at the box office.
Upon the film's initial release, New York Times film critic Howard Thompson lauded it by writing, "it's hard to imagine how the picture could be better as a rousing, humorous and gentle-hearted tale of family love amid primitive isolation and dangers. On December 12 , , Variety announced that a remake of the film was in development at Walt Disney Studios with Mandeville Films co-producing it.
In June , Variety confirmed that director Jonathan Mostow would helm the director's chair for it. It was to be produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. Disney Wiki Explore.
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