Audiobook · read by volunteers
Swiss Family Robinson
Johann Rudolf Wyss (1782–1830) · Johann David Wyss (1743–1818)
Read by Mark F. Smith · 52 chapters · 12 h 45
About the book
A ship goes down in a terrible storm, and a Swiss pastor, his wife and their four sons are washed up on a tropical shore. Cut off from the world, they might have despaired; instead they get to work. They build a house in the branches of a great tree, tame wild animals, plant crops, and explore a coast full of astonishing creatures. Each day brings a new problem and a new invention, and the father uses every opportunity to teach his sons about nature and good sense. Cheerful, ingenious and surprisingly detailed, this classic castaway tale has delighted young readers for generations. Fifty-two chapters, read by a single LibriVox volunteer, add up to nearly thirteen hours of resourceful adventure. Wholesome, ingenious and endlessly inventive. A cosy voyage for a long season.
Introduction
The Swiss Family Robinson is a novel about a family shipwrecked on a desert island, and it takes its name from Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, the book that inspired a whole genre of castaway stories. It was written by Johann David Wyss, a Swiss pastor who lived from 1743 to 1818, as a tale for his own sons. His son Johann Rudolf Wyss, who lived from 1782 to 1830, prepared the story for publication.
The book has a distinctive tone. It is part adventure, part educational manual, and the father constantly explains how things work and how nature can be put to use. The family's island is implausibly rich: a single stretch of coast offers animals and plants from many parts of the world. Modern readers may smile at this, but the invention is part of the pleasure, and the energy of the family's enterprise remains infectious.
The text has a complicated history. The tale was edited by his son and later expanded and altered by various editors and translators, which is why English versions differ from one another. This recording uses an English version from the mid-nineteenth century, in fifty-two short chapters.
A single LibriVox volunteer reads the whole book, which takes a little under thirteen hours. It is a gentle, wholesome and often funny story, especially suited to families and to anyone who likes a tale of ingenuity and practical cheer. For adult listeners, it also offers a glimpse of how nineteenth century writers imagined self-reliance, nature and the family as a school. It is the sort of book that makes a rainy afternoon feel like a voyage, and which many readers remember fondly from their own childhoods.
Public domain
Johann Rudolf Wyss died in 1830: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
Johann David Wyss died in 1818: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text