Episodes

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Daniel Hahn20190531Daniel Hahn considers language in the relationship between Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday, and how two meeting cultures communicate

In this series of Essays, recorded in front of an audience at the 2019 Hay Festival, five writers respond to the themes of Daniel Defoe's ‘Robinson Crusoe'. Often described as the first novel, it's a story which still resonates, three hundred years after it was written, but also preserves the attitudes of its time. Fiona Stafford, Horatio Clare, Alex Wheatle, Alys Conran and Daniel Hahn reflect on the novel as a tale of exotic adventure, a study of isolation and a fantasy of colonial encounter.

The Essay from Hay Festival 2019

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

01Fiona Stafford20190527Fiona Stafford explores ‘The Strange, Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe', looking at what Crusoe the narrator was most surprised by, and the stranger aspects of the book

In this series of Essays, recorded in front of an audience at the 2019 Hay Festival, five writers respond to the themes of Daniel Defoe's ‘Robinson Crusoe'. Often described as the first novel, it's a story which still resonates, three hundred years after it was written, but also preserves the attitudes of its time. Fiona Stafford, Horatio Clare, Alex Wheatle, Alys Conran and Daniel Hahn reflect on the novel as a tale of exotic adventure, a study of isolation and a fantasy of colonial encounter.

Reflections on Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel, Robinson Crusoe, from the 2019 Hay Festival.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

02Horatio Clare20190528Horatio Clare explores the castaway myth, looking at what happens to the soul and mind in the great spaces and on actual desert islands.

In this series of Essays, recorded in front of an audience at the 2019 Hay Festival, five writers respond to the themes of Daniel Defoe's ‘Robinson Crusoe'. Often described as the first novel, it's a story which still resonates, three hundred years after it was written, but also preserves the attitudes of its time. Fiona Stafford, Horatio Clare, Alex Wheatle, Alys Conran and Daniel Hahn reflect on the novel as a tale of exotic adventure, a study of isolation and a fantasy of colonial encounter.

Horatio Clare explores the castaway myth.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

03Alex Wheatle20190529Having enjoyed it as an eight-year-old boy, Alex Wheatle re-reads Robinson Crusoe and reflects on its themes of imperialism and slavery.

In this series of Essays, recorded in front of an audience at the 2019 Hay Festival, five writers respond to the themes of Daniel Defoe's ‘Robinson Crusoe'. Often described as the first novel, it's a story which still resonates, three hundred years after it was written, but also preserves the attitudes of its time. Fiona Stafford, Horatio Clare, Alex Wheatle, Alys Conran and Daniel Hahn reflect on the novel as a tale of exotic adventure, a study of isolation and a fantasy of colonial encounter.

Alex Wheatle reflects on Robinson Crusoe's themes of imperialism and slavery.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

04Alys Conran20190530Alys Conran reflects on the theme of isolation in Robinson Crusoe and the act of reading it as a novelist

In this series of Essays, recorded in front of an audience at the 2019 Hay Festival, five writers respond to the themes of Daniel Defoe's ‘Robinson Crusoe'. Often described as the first novel, it's a story which still resonates, three hundred years after it was written, but also preserves the attitudes of its time. Fiona Stafford, Horatio Clare, Alex Wheatle, Alys Conran and Daniel Hahn reflect on the novel as a tale of exotic adventure, a study of isolation and a fantasy of colonial encounter.

Alys Conran reflects on what it's like to read Robinson Crusoe as a novelist.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.