Swiss Robinson Family

The Swiss Family Robinson is a novel by the Swiss author Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwrecked in the East Indies. The novel opens with a Swiss family in the hold of a sailing ship, weathering a great storm. The ship’s crew evacuates without them, so William, Elizabeth, and their four sons (Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Franz) are left to survive alone. As the ship tosses around, William prays that God will spare them. The ship survives the night, and the family finds themselves within sight of a tropical desert island. The following day, they decide to get to the island they can see beyond the ocean. With much effort, they construct a makeshift boat out of tubs. After they fill the tubs with food, ammunition, and other items of value they can safely carry, they row toward the island. Upon reaching the island, the family set up a makeshift camp. William knows that they must prepare for a long time on the island and his thoughts are as much on provisions for the future as on their immediate wants. William and his oldest son Fritz spend the next day exploring the island. The family spends the next few days securing themselves against hunger. William and Fritz make several trips to the ship to bring everything useful from the vessel ashore. After their trips to the vessel and back they have enough resources to bunker down for a while and start working on the shelter so they can live without a danger. The domesticated animals on the ship are towed back to the island. There is also a great store of firearms and ammunition, hammocks for sleeping, carpenter’s tools, lumber, cooking utensils, silverware, and dishes. Initially, they construct a treehouse, but as time passes (and after Elizabeth is injured climbing the stairs down from it), they settle in a more permanent dwelling in part of a cave. This cave had rocks hanging from the ceiling but after clearing almost all of them out they lived cozy for a while. One day as Fritz was gathering wood and resources for them, he saw a large ship sailing past them. He ran to tell his family and after a few minutes of shouting and waving their hands the captain sailed past their island and found them. The captain realized this and made an emergency stop on the island which almost hit the Swiss Family. After the ship stopped the captain and a few staff workers got out and helped the family aboard the ship. It took many months to get back to their home but after they did, they sat cozy in their home very happy they didn’t die out on the island.