The Forum: Robinson Crusoe

The story of Robinson Crusoe and his many years of survival alone on a deserted island has enchanted the English-speaking world for centuries, inspiring countless re-imaginings and reinterpretations.

Many people first come across the story as a children’s book or a film portrayal, celebrating Crusoe’s buccaneering adventures and his heroic efforts to tame his wild environment, create shelter and food supplies - and eventually befriend the native man he calls Friday.

But closer reading of Daniel Defoe’s original novel, written 300 years ago this spring, reveals a more complex tale of sin and redemption, debating fundamental questions about man’s place in the world against a backdrop of colonial expansion, transatlantic commerce and the slave trade.

Bridget Kendall discusses the book’s extraordinary literary and cultural legacy with the Defoe scholar Prof Andreas Mueller, from the University of Northern Colorado in the USA; Olivette Otele, Professor of History at Bath Spa University in the UK; and Karen O’Brien, Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford in the UK.

• Produced by Rebecca Vincent for BBC World Service

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