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The subject of this
nursery was made
famous in Daniel
Defoe’s popular
novel which was
published in 1719.
The full title of
the novel was 'The
Life and strange and
surprising
Adventures of
Robinson Crusoe'.
The story is based
on the the life and
of Alexander Selkirk
who had run away to
sea in 1704 and left
on an uninhabited
island for five
years.
Chapbooks
A chapbook is "a
small book or
pamphlet containing
poems, ballads,
stories, or
religious tracts".
They originated as
long ago as 1570
when they were cheap
penny pamphlets,
complete with
pictures printed
from woodcuts, which
were sold at fairs
to the common folk
who were often
illiterate. These
Chapbooks contained
Nursery Rhymes and
ballads but the
content and material
of the Chapbooks
expanded in the
1700's to include
children's stories
like Robinson
Crusoe! So the Rhyme
of 'Poor old
Robinson Crusoe'
brings us full
circle!
The Chapbooks and
the Nursery Rhyme
Help us to maintain
our history and
heritage through the
words and lyrics of
old Nursery Rhymes
like 'Poor old
Robinson Crusoe' |
