Crusoe, Castaways and Shipwrecks in the Perilous Age of Sail
Robinson Crusoe is fictional, so Crusoe, Castaways and Shipwrecks begins as a study in English Literature, discussing the author, Daniel Defoe, and his book and then charting the castaway genre to which it gave rise in print, radio, TV and pantomime. Rendell then goes on to consider some of the real life castaways whose stories may have inspired the novel (not only Alexander Selkirk) and finally summarises other famous castaway epics over the next 200 years, notably the open boat voyage of Captain Bligh across the South Pacific after the mutiny.
As Robinson Crusoe proved, you cannot lose with a castaway story. They are all fascinating.
