The Swiss Family Robinson

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**Title** **The Swiss Family Robinson**
Author	Johann David Wyss
Original title	Der Schweizerische Robinson
Country	Switzerland
Language	German
Genre(s)	Adventure, Historical novel
Publisher	Johann Rudolph Wyss (the author's son)
Released	1812
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	NA

The Swiss Family Robinson (Der Schweizerische Robinson) is a novel, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family who is shipwrecked in the East Indies en route to Port Jackson, Australia.

Written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss, and edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss, this novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance. Publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel modernized and changed the story expanding and continuing it with additional chapters not authored by Wyss, republishing it under the title of The New Swiss Family Robinson^[1].

Most of the episodes (in the book) have to do with Christian-oriented lessons.

Although movie and TV adaptations have often given them the surname Robinson, which is not a Swiss name, the "Robinson" of the title refers to Robinson Crusoe.

1 Plot introduction
2 Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
3 References
4 Footnotes
5 See Also
6 External links

[edit] Plot introduction

Making for a deserted island, they discover and develop all the necessaries for a good life - showing incredible resourcefulness in adapting and utilising the island's many natural resources (which come from several different continents) and a large quantity of provisions salvaged from the ship. They build a tree house, among other things (which has survived into film adaptations bearing few other resemblances to the original book) .

While adapting to their life there, they come into contact and conflict with pirates, and rescue a young female who is the granddaughter of a British Admiral, after her ship had been attacked by pirates and she along with her grandfather had been captured.

[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The novel has in one form or another been adapted in a number of versions.

Swiss Family Robinson (1940)
Swiss Cheese Family Robinson (1947)
Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
The Swiss Family Robinson (1976)
Mountain Family Robinson (1980)
The New Swiss Family Robinson (1998 film)^[2]
The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson (1998)

The adaptions into television series have also been numerous

Lost in Space (1965), was known as the "Space Family Robinson"
Swiss Family Robinson (1975) - American series starring Martin Milner
Swiss Family Robinson (1976) - Canadian series starring Chris Wiggins
The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island - (1981) anime series.
English Family Robinson (1957)

There have been a number of adaptions into television movies

The Swiss Family Robinson (1958)
The Swiss Family Robinson (1973)
The Swiss Family Robinson (1973)
The Swiss Family Robinson (1975)
Beverly Hills Family Robinson (1998)
Swiss Family Robinson Lost in the Jungle (2000)
Stranded (2002), aka "The Swiss Family Robinson"
Swiss Family Robinson: The Remake (2007)

[edit] References

Weber, Marie-Hélène (1993). Robinson et robinsonnades : étude comparée de "Robinson Crusoe" de Defoe, "Le Robinson suisse" de J.R. Wyss, "L'Ile mystérieuse" de J. Verne, "Sa majesté des mouches" de W. Golding, "Vendredi ou les limbes du Pacifique" de M. Tournier, Ed.. Universitaires du Sud.