When Robinson Crusoe was first published in 1719, it was such an immediate success that a second printing was called for three weeks later. Defoe took the true story of a sailor, Alexander Selkirk, who was castaway on an island in 1703, and skillfully embroidered the truth with a wealth of imaginative detail. The novel opens with Crusoe disobeying his father and going out to sea. He plans a slave-gathering expedition which is compromised by a shipwreck on an island near Trinidad, where he toils for his daily needs. Crusoe manages to construct a shelter, secure a food supply, and comes to accept his stay on the island as the product of fate. The novel's theme of solitude laid the foundations for the modern central themes of alienation and isolation. In addition to providing ageless entertainment, Robinson Crusoe contains a message of self-reliance that is probably more needed today than when it was first written.
鲁滨逊·克鲁索（Robinson Crusoe）是丹尼尔·笛福创作的长篇小说《鲁滨逊漂流记》的主要人物，又译为鲁宾孙·克鲁索。
鲁滨逊梦想成为一名水手，他违背父亲的意愿，执意出海游历，不幸的是，船在暴风雨中倾覆。同船之人无一幸免。他孤身漂流到一座荒岛，身上物品所剩无几。尽管在荒岛上困难凶险不断，他却勇敢地生存了下来。后来，他发现一个长满葡萄的山谷，在那里搭建了一个容身之所。渐渐地，他开始喜爱孤岛生活。他驯养山羊，练习编筐，制作面包和陶器。在岛上过着宁静富足的生活。有一次，他救下一个即将被祭祀的食人族的野人“星期五"，把他当做贴身仆人和亲密朋友。他在荒岛上生活了28年后，回到了故乡。
鲁宾逊拥有直面现实、不畏困难、不灰心气馁、坚毅顽强、积极进取的创业精神，这种精神正是新兴资产者所需要的。鲁宾逊的殖民主义思想反映了作者的时代局限性。作者从正面将鲁宾逊塑造成了文学史上第一位资产者，对19世纪现实主义小说的创作产生了重大的影响。
