In Search Of Robinson Crusoe Review & Ratings

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In Search Of Robinson Crusoe Review

This is not the first such voyage of literary detection upon which Tim Severin has embarked, though it is the first I have read.
What Severin presents you with is a narrative mix that alternates between his retellings of the primary sources, the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century published voyage-narratives that were Defoe's potential sources for his novel Robinsion Crusoe, and accounts of Severin's own "in the foot-steps" travels around the relevant locations.
In both these areas of narrative Severin's prose makes for an entertaining and compelling read. He is apposite and insightful without pretence. In his historical judgment, he occasionally seems intemperate and one-sided; his treatment Captain Shelvocke seems particularly severe. This is because, ultimately, he writes more like a journalist than an historian, but his portraits of historical characters certainly bring them to life for the reader.
In describing his contemporary travels, Severin's observations are equally acute, often poignant and occasionally hilarious. A particular treat is his account of Grand Cayman, a hugely amusing study of petty officialdom in a small, rich, self-important but essentially dysfunctional, offshore haven.
The book's conclusion is not earth-shattering or at all unexpected. Crusoe isn't Alexander Selkirk, though the latter's contemporary celebrity doubtless made him a significant influence upon Defoe. Crusoe is a fictional composite who owes a little something to a variety of historical seafarers. Severin also shows us the historical prototypes of Man Friday, a component entirely absent from Selkirk's story.
The nearest to "finding Crusoe" Severin gets is to identify the historical man to whom the fictional hero Crusoe is said to owe the most.
I won't spoil things by naming him, but I was fascinated to read about Severin's prime suspect. Although Severin never makes this connection in his book, it is blindingly obvious that his candidate for Crusoe was, in fact, also the source for Rafael Sabatini's great swashbuckling hero, Peter Blood.
None of this matters because, with Severin's excellent narrative, the pleasure is in the journey rather than the final destination.
I will tell you, however, what Tim Severin does not: Robinson Crusoe and Captain Blood are one and the same!

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