From Philosophical Experiment to Adventure Fiction: English Adaptations of French Robinsonades and the Politics of Genre

Comparisons of two late-eighteenth century French Robinsonades against their English translations show that authors removed content associated with continental radicalism, with lasting effects on the genre. Divorced from their transnational roots in utopian political and educational experiments (including the Arabic novelHayy Ibn Yaqzān), Robinsonades of the following century celebrated British nationalism.