Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss This edition (c)2000 by Pink Tree Press PO Box 16536 Salt Lake City, Utah 84116 ISBN 1-930860-50-1
**This is a COPYRIGHTED Project Gutenberg Etext, Details Above**
[Portions of this header are copyright (C) 2001 by Michael S. Hart and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] [Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or software or any other related product without express permission.]
This Gutenberg Edition of <The Swiss Family Robinson> is a gift from the Editor's Cut imprint of Pink Tree Press, www.pink-tree-press.com. All Editor's Cut(tm) editions are free except for handling charges necessary to provide the book in your preferred format.
This Editor's Cut(tm) edition brings you Johann David Wyss's classic <Swiss Family Robinson> as you've never read it before! It is Volume One of <The Castaways Collection>.
The Editor's Cut(tm) imprint always provides the best, up-to-date, re-edited texts of the most beloved family classics, suitable for personal reading or homeschool.
This edition (c)2000 by Pink Tree Press PO Box 16536 Salt Lake City, Utah 84116 ISBN 1-930860-50-1
Foreword
No unabridged edition of <Swiss Family Robinson> exists in English. Indeed, the book has been rewritten so many times, by so many editors, that it can legitimately be said that that no complete edition of the book exists in <any> language.
Johann David Wyss, a Swiss pastor, originally wrote this book to entertain and instruct his four sons. Years later, his son Johann (or Jean--accounts differ) Rudolf Wyss, by then a professor of philosophy, persuaded his father to allow him to complete and edit the unfinished manuscript. It was published in two volumes in Zurich in 1812-1813.
Its French translator, Mme de Montholieu, obtained permission to greatly enlarge the book. It was published in five volumes from 1824 through 1826. The first English edition, abridged, was published in 1814; it was followed by several other English translations of varying quality. In 1849 W. H. G. Kingston re-translated, and greatly abridged, Mme. De Montholieu's version. Most English versions are based on Kingston's abridged version.
Despite a vast number of amusing errors in flora and fauna, the book has entertained, and warmed the hearts of, many generations. However, most modern editions omit an incredible amount even of Kingston's translation by making small cuttings here and there, some of them maddeningly inept. The Editor's Cut edition from Pink Tree Press has been based on, and compared with, no fewer than five previous editions, all of them out of copyright. Most, though not all, of the cuttings have been restored. The material that continues to be omitted is of little imaginable interest to anyone other than a scholar of nineteenth century literature.
Paragraphing has been redone in order to facilitate ease of reading. Some archaic spelling and grammar have been retained, as they are part of the flavor of the book; they have been changed where necessary for clarity. The British-style punctuation has been retained. The lengthy and unnecessary chapter headings have been omitted. Some parenthetical information is provided, most often to define words no longer to be found in many English dictionaries.
Anne Wingate, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief Pink Tree Press
Chapter 1
For many days we had been tempest-tossed. Six times had the darkness closed over a wild and terrific scene, and returning light as often brought but renewed distress, for the raging storm increased in fury until on the seventh day all hope was lost.
