The Swiss Family Robinson

Written by Swiss
writer, Johann David Wyss, edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss, and
illustrated by another 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.

I read this book in
grade school, yes, that was a long time ago, just after it was
written by a Swiss Pastor, Johann David Wyss (1743-1818). He was born
in Berne, became an army chaplain, and is said to have told the story
episode by episode to his four sons; wrote it. Okay, I’m not that
old: Actually, I was in grade school, 4rth or 5^th grade and
the whole class went to visit the library. We were all given Library
Cards and encouraged to pick a book. I chose Swiss Family Robinson
because it sounded like a great adventure to me.

It was I read that
book faster than I had ever read anything. In a few days it was
finished, and I slipped into depression, well depression as a child
feels it. Man, I wanted that island back. I wanted to know what
happened next, I wanted… I don’t know, more!

I didn’t get more;
after all there was only one book, right?

So, last month I
thought about Swiss Family Robinson and decided it would be great to
re-read it, so I did a Google Search, found it, found it was public
domain too, so I downloaded an ePub version and that night when I
went to do my nightly reading, that is what I read. Or did I?

The book I was
reading seemed different: Only subtly at first, but then veering off
course. I couldn’t believe it, someone had taken my favorite book,
re-wrote it, published it in the original authors name and left out
all the really good parts I remembered as a kid. Also, when I got
halfway through the book, it ended. There was a brief note that this
is all that the original author was able to write, that he left the
manuscript incomplete and disorganized, and so it was prepared for
publication at Zurich in 1812-13 as Der schweizerische Robinson;”
its editor was his son, Johann Rudolf Wyss (1781 – 1830) who was a
professor of philosophy at Berne.

Isabelle
de Montolieu produced the first French
adaptation/translation in 1814 which included material she had added
herself; “the first English translation was by probably the work
of William Godwin and was published by his wife, M. J. Godwin in 1814
[but see below] as The Family Robinson Crusoe and described
as a transation ‘from the German of M. Wiss,’ though it incorporated
some of Montolieu’s additions. The Godwin version was re-issued in a
longer version in 1816, and the book’s familiar title first used in
1818. In 1824 Montolieu produced a yet larger version in French; she
added the adventures of Fritz, Franz, Ernest and Jack” (Oxford
Companion, p. 510). Still other writers added yet further
(improbable) adventures; interestingly these as well as the
adventures added by Montolieu are among the best known.

Over the years there
have been many versions of the story with episodes added, changed, or
deleted. Yet the best-known English version is by William
H. G. Kingston, first published in 1879.^[1]
It is based on Isabelle
de Montolieu‘s 1813 French adaptation and 1824
continuation (from chapter 37) Le Robinson suisse, ou, Journal
d’un père de famille, naufragé avec ses enfants in which were
added further adventures of Fritz, Franz, Ernest, and Jack. And, my
friends, that is the book I first read, or I should say the adaption
of her additions called the revised edition in English. That became
the library standard in America.

That version is the
one I had expected to read. So, when I reached the middle of the book
and was informed that the original writer never finished the book,
and that Isabelle de Montolieu had finished the book, I was shocked.
It stated that she was a popular writer of her time and that she had
been asked to finish the book by the son Johann Rudolf Wyss. I
couldn’t find any substantiation for that, yet I did find that she
did add a section in 1813 and expanded that in 1824. So, I read on
and was surprised to find that although I was reading the things I
expected, they didn’t turn out the same. For instance: Although a
huge Python did show up, it didn’t kill and eat the Ass as it had
in the book I had read. And, although they had problems with the
monkeys and apes, they did not end up killing several of them. And I
had never read a version where Franz and the mother were captured by
savages and ultimately rescued by the father, Fritz, Ernest and Jack
was wounded during the rescue but ultimately rescued too. And a young
English woman and her children, some savages who wanted to live in
New Switzerland as well as a shipwrecked pastor. Wow, then a ship
showed up for rescue.

To say the least it
was a surprise. So back to Google I went and began a search to find
out why I had received this book when it clearly wasn’t the one, I
remembered from childhood.

I found out that
there have been dozens and dozens of translations, many with their
own additions, based on Isabelle de Motolieu’s addition, yet
changed subtly or even wildly. So, I searched and found her version,
which indeed was the one I downloaded. On the page it also showed the
popular English version of my youth, the Swiss Family Robinson
Revised edition. The one I remembered, so I searched for a copy,
found it was also public domain, downloaded it and read it. Yes, the
apes were killed, the Ass was killed by the Python who in turn was
killed by the father and the boys, and Fritz went on a canoe trip
towards the end to find the young woman who had placed a note on a
rag wrapped around an Albatrosses’ leg he had nearly killed. He
found Jenny Montrose and bought her home, then a ship came, and Fritz
left for England to marry Jenny if he could obtain her father’s
permission, and Franz surprised the heck out of me by leaving his
mother and going to England permanently. The End… No…

No because Jules
Verne also became obsessed with the Swiss Family Robinson. He himself
has admitted that it had greatly influenced his writings. I love older
books, and I often search for public domain books that can be
downloaded. As with Swiss Family Robinson I went looking for some of
Jules Vern’s’ books I had read as a young child. I found many,
and some I had never heard of, including two, Their Island Home and
The Castaways of the Flag. Both of these books sound very like
Robinson Crusoe or Swiss Family Robinson influenced. They weren’t
simply influenced by books, they were both continuations of the
original story, and they were also both public domain.

The first is Their
Island Home, and it picks up exactly where the original ended. The
ship, Fritz and Franz leaving. The second, The Castaways of the Flag
picks up after that one. I found both and downloaded them and I am
beginning the first so as to read them in order. Jules Vern’s’
writing style is much different. He tells the tale in an author’s
voice, not first person. He also gives the family a last name
Zermatt. And while finding these to read, I also found Willis the
Pilot by Johann Wyss, the Pastor? No clue, it could be the pastor,
his son, and some ascribe it to the original author’s grandson, so
I downloaded that as well and will read it at the end. So, the answer
to the question at the beginning of this: Was there more than just
one book? Yes, there was. There were several books.

The Swiss family
Robinson Johann David Wysse

The
principal characters of the book (including Isabelle
de Montolieu‘s
adaptations and continuation) are:

• Pastor
  – The patriarch of the family. He is the narrator of the story and
  leads the family. He knows an enormous amount of information on
  almost everything the family comes across, demonstrating bravery and
  self-reliance.

• Elizabeth
  – The loving mother of the family. She is intelligent and
  resourceful, arming herself even before leaving the ship with a
  “magic bag” filled with supplies, including sewing
  materials and seeds for food crops. She is also a remarkably
  versatile cook, taking on anything from porcupine soup to roast
  penguin.

• Fritz
  – The oldest of the four boys, he is 15. Fritz is intelligent but
  impetuous. He is the strongest and accompanies his father on many
  quests.

• Ernest
  – The second oldest of the boys, he is 13. Ernest is the most
  intelligent, but a less physically active boy, often described by
  his father as “indolent”. Like Fritz however, he comes to
  be an excellent shot.

• Jack
  – The third oldest of the boys, 11 years old. He is thoughtless,
  bold, vivacious, and the quickest of the group.

• Franz
  (sometimes translated as Francis)
  – The youngest of the boys, he is 8 years old when the story
  opens. He usually stays home with his mother.

• Turk
  – The family’s English dog.

• Juno
  – The family’s Danish dog.

• Nip
  (also called Knips
  or Nips
  in some editions) – An orphan monkey adopted by the family after
  their dogs Turk and Juno have killed his mother. The family uses him
  to test for poisonous fruits.

• Fangs
  – A jackal
  that was tamed by the family.

This book:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3836

A second version:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41659

The Castaways of the
flag: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61600

Their Island Home:
https://1lib.us/book/3859459/b73974?id=3859459&secret=b73974

Willis the Pilot:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14172

There you are,
enjoy. These books are Public Domain in the U.S. Although you may
find copies that ask payment, these links do not require a payment,
yet they do accept donations. See you again, soon, Dell.