Robinson Crusoe, born in York, is the third son in his family. His parents wish to make a lawyer out of young Crusoe, but he has other plans. His one great desire is to become a sailor and go to sea. Although almost all of his initial forays into sea life are disastrous, Crusoe is not deterred. The novel is basically about his life and adventures on some island, where he lives for the next twenty-eight years...
The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the Grampus. Various adventures and misadventures befall Pym, including shipwreck, mutiny, and cannibalism, before he is saved by the crew of the Jane Guy. Aboard this vessel, Pym and a sailor named Dirk Peters continue their adventures further south. Docking on land, they encounter hostile black-skinned natives before escaping back to the ocean.