Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) was a British novelist
and journalist.
Evan R. Davis is Associate Professor of English at
Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, Virginia.
Evan Davis has done an excellent job of bringing together many of
the strands of thought that Defoe put into The Life and Strange
Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe—his interests in travel,
economics, religion, and the experience of solitude—and putting
them into an attractive format. Professor Davis supplies examples
of texts on related topics such as solitude, cannibalism, and
castaway narratives, along with a group of wonderful illustrations,
including a large number of Crusoe and Friday, showing everything
from the sympathetic and helpful Crusoe to Crusoe the colonialist
and exploiter. These are well chosen to make points about the ways
in which Crusoe fits into the interests of post-colonial criticism.
Professor Davis is also very good in his introduction on the
ambiguity with which Crusoe treats Friday. Is he a friend, a
servant, or a slave? Or all three? This will be a useful and indeed
an exciting text for students at all levels." – Maximillian E.
Novak, University of California at Los Angeles
"This edition greatly enriches the reader's appreciation of
Robinson Crusoe both as a classic that transcends its historical
origins and as a text that reflects a specific historical context.
In each role, the novel can be viewed from many perspectives,
ranging from those embodied in other writings by Defoe and his
contemporaries to later ideas about psychology, economics,
religion, and post-colonialism, and the introduction and appendices
give the reader access to an extraordinarily copious array of these
perspectives. The introduction, moreover, goes well beyond
compiling viewpoints: while elegantly marshaling information, Evan
R. Davis also contests received opinion and offers fresh insights.
This is an extremely useful edition for students, general readers,
and even those already well-acquainted with Defoe." – Oscar
Kenshur, Indiana University
"Evan R. Davis's fine edition of Robinson Crusoe for Broadview
joins an already well-populated field of classroom paperbacks of
Defoe's first novel….The Broadview edition holds its own…and offers
much to recommend itself. It provides everything one would want
from a text for classroom use (or for reading outside the
classroom, for that matter): a reliable text, annotations that are
clear and sufficient without being obtrusive, and an intelligent
and thoughtful editor’s introduction. Moreover, it provides a rich
selection of supplementary materials, including a truly surprising
number of illustrations, aimed at provoking classroom discussion or
simply thoughtful reflection." - Benjamin F. Pauley, Eastern
Connecticut State University, reviewed in Digital Defoe
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