The adventures of Robinson Crusoe penetrated into common consciousness and became world known. Thousands of editions- it could be spoken of 20 editions in Slovakia and 90 in Czech republic. But immense popularity caused that the true Robinson Crusoe is nearly unknown. For some readers the whole initial part, in which Robinson was captured on his journeys to Spain, Portugal after his rescue from the island will be absolutely new. Going through different editions, we will find out that our hero has completely different experiences, the plot is running differently. We can read in numerous remakes and overworks of this book that Robinson Crusoe comes from York, in other book form Hamburg or even form Bremen. We could only wonder how many varieties of Robinson Crusoe exist. They differ not only in initial and final parts, but also in the time the hero spent on the island: 28 years, 2 months and 19 days; or 17 years and 11 months or 11 years etc. Except of the intimately known Friday we can find in some books also a man named Thursday. But how is it possible that there are so many varieties of his book? The explanation is very simple. The book simply paid tax to its popularity.
The book was published for the first time in 1719 and it was an immediate success, an extraordinary one. Several repeated editions came out in the very same year. The row of translations has started already in the year 1790. The process of shortening and remaking of R.C. starts in this year too. This work was of course filmed many times, also in many forms, sometimes not very convenient ones (even misused for political aims in Germany).
The unknown may be seen as mysterious. What is in many examples the case of Daniel Defoe - what may be viewed as a paradox. Indeed he lived at the end of the 17-th and the beginning of the 18-th century. He was a famous, publicly active person. I am speaking about unbelievably fruitful journalist, writer. He spoke about himself in puzzles, as if he wanted to cover his personality into secret clothes, as if he wanted to hide the footsteps of his existence and work. Daniel Defoe was a merchant, to whom deceits, endless speculations and bankrupts were not strange. A contractor, journalist, writer but at the same time a spy and an informer. He had a very complicated and contradictory personality.
He was born in St.