"Robinson Crusoe" has captured the imagination of countless readers with its vivid evocation of one man's survival on a remote island, far from the civilization he knows. Thought to be one of the first English novels, "Robinson Crusoe" is the timeless story of a merchant's trading voyages and adventures at sea, his shipwreck and subsequent life marooned alone. Based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, it is fascinating in its descriptions of Crusoe's ingenuity and inventiveness, his ability to make and use tools, his discovery of man Friday and his treatment of him. In addition to this, "Robinson Crusoe" is also an exploration of the ways in which a man who had made his fortune in trade is able to survive in reasonable comfort, thanks to his resourcefulness, when goods and money can no longer be of any value to him.