robinsonade, any novel written in imitation of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719–22) that deals with the problem of the castaway’s survival on a desert island.
One of the best known robinsonades is Swiss Family Robinson (1812–27) by Johann Rudolf Wyss, in which a shipwrecked clergyman, his wife, and his four sons manage not only to survive on their island but also to discover the good life. Jules Verne strands his castaways in Mysterious Island (1874) with only one match, one grain of wheat, a metal dog collar, and two watches. From these beginnings they build up an impressive island industry. In the 20th century the flowering of science fiction produced a new type of robinsonade in which castaways struggle to survive in outer space or on distant planets.