The Swiss Family Robinson

The Swiss Family Robinson is a novel by Johann David Wyss first published in 1812 about a Swiss family shipwrecked in the East Indies en route to Port Jackson, Australia.

    Written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss and edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss and illustrated by his son Johann Emmanuel Wyss, the novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world, and self-reliance. Wyss’ attitude toward education is in line with the teachings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many of the episodes have to do with Christian-oriented moral lessons such as frugality, husbandry, acceptance, and cooperation. The adventures are presented as a series of lessons in natural history and the physical sciences and resemble other, similar educational books for children in this period.

    Over the years there have been many versions of the story with episodes added, changed, or deleted. Perhaps the best-known English version is by William H.G. Kingston, first published in 1879; it is based on Isabelle de Montolieu’s 1813 French adaptation and 1824 continuation (from Chapter 37), so Wyss’ original narrative has long since been obscured.

     Although movie and television adaptations typically name the family “Robinson,” it is not a Swiss name; the “Robinson” of the title refers to Robinson Crusoe. The German name translates as the Swiss Robinson, and identifies the novel as belonging to the Robinsonade genre, rather than as a story about a family named Robinson.