First published in 1828, this children's Robinsonade - named for Defoe's 1719 novel, Robinson Crusoe, the Robinsonade is a genre of story involving being castaway on a desert island for a period of time - follows the adventures of a young boy named Charles Crusoe. The son of an English merchant in Bombay, he is a great admirer of the figure of Robinson Crusoe, and of Alexander Selkirk, the Scotsman whose story is said to have influenced Defoe's tale. When Charles and his father sail for home, the boy gets a chance to live out some of his hero's experiences, after a shipwreck leaves them stranded on St. Paul's Island, not far from the volcanic Amsterdam Island, in the southern Indian Ocean. When Charles' father and servant mysteriously disappear from the island, the boy believes himself abandoned, and continues on alone, learning to survive on what is available to him. He also begins to read his Bible, and to draw closer to God. Eventually, he is rescued, and returns to England, a far more mature and spiritual boy...

I had not read Defoe's classic novel, when The Young Crusoe, or The Shipwrecked Boy was assigned as a text in the class I took on early children's literature, during the course of my masters, and I have yet to read it still, something I hope to one day remedy. That said, the title alone gives the reader an idea of what is contained therein, and I was interested to see what Barbara Hofland, a prolific early 19th-century English children's author, would do with the tale. Not unexpectedly, she used it as an opportunity to explore issues of faith, and of devotion to God. I thought it was fascinating that, once returned to "civilization," Charles found the proximity of so many other people somewhat off-putting, and was a little shocked at the triviality of so many of their concerns. I suspect that this must often be the case, for those who have survived extreme experiences, when being reunited with 'normal' human society. The Robinsonade is not a genre I have read extensively, although I can certainly understand its fascinating, and its usefulness to storytellers wanting to explore the connections between the individual and society and/or God. It's fascinating that this entire genre owes its name to a famous novel. This reminds me of the 'Ruritanian Romance,' a genre featuring adventures in make-believe middle-European kingdoms, named for the fictional kingdom of Ruritania, in Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda. In any case, this was an engaging and brief read, and is one I would recommend to those with an interest in children's Robinsonades, or in children's literature of the early 19th century. ( )