The Swiss Family Robinson

***The Swiss Family Robinson*** (German: _Der Schweizerische Robinson_) is a novel by Johann David Wyss. It was first published in 1812. The story is about a Swiss family shipwrecked in the East Indies while on their way to Port Jackson, Australia.

## History

It was written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss, edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss and illustrated by his 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. Wyss' attitude toward education is in line with the teachings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Many of the episodes have to do with Christian-oriented moral lessons such as frugality, husbandry, acceptance, cooperation, etc. The family includes the sons Fritz, Ernest, Jack and Franz. It also includes their mother and their father who is the main character and narrator. The adventures are presented as a series of lessons in natural history and the physical sciences. It resembles other, similar educational books for children in this period. Examples include Charlotte Turner Smith's _Rural Walks: in Dialogues intended for the use of Young Persons_ (1795), _Rambles Further: A continuation of Rural Walks_ (1796), _A Natural History of Birds, intended chiefly for young persons (1807)_. But the novel differs in that it is modeled on Defoe's _Robinson Crusoe_, a genuine adventure story. It presents a geographically impossible array of large mammals that probably could never have existed together on a single island.

Over the years there have been many versions of the story with episodes added, changed, or deleted. Perhaps the best-known English version is by William H. G. Kingston, first published in 1879. 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. Other English editions that claim to include the whole of the Wyss-Montolieu narrative are by W. H. Davenport Adams (1869–1910) and Mrs H. B. Paull (1879).

Although movie and TV adaptations typically name the family "Robinson", it is not a Swiss name. The "Robinson" of the title refers to Robinson Crusoe. The German name translates as _the Swiss Robinson_, and identifies the novel as belonging to the Robinsonade genre, rather than as a story about a family named Robinson.

## Other adaptations

The novels in one form or another have also been adapted numerous times, sometimes changing location and/or time period:

**Book sequels**
- _Willis the pilot: a sequel to The Swiss family Robinson; or, Adventures of an emigrant family wrecked on an unknown coast of the Pacific Ocean_ (1858) has been attributed to Johann Wyss or to Johanna Spyri, author of _Heidi_.
- _Second Fatherland_ (_Seconde Patrie_, 1900), by Jules Verne takes up the story at the point where Wyss's tale left off. It has also been published in two volumes, _Their Island Home_ and _Castaways of the Flag_.
- _Return to Robinson Island_ (2015), by TJ Hoisington, Based on the original 1812 Swiss Family Robinson novel.

**Film versions**
- _Al-Ṭurfa al-Šahiyya fī aḫbār al-ʿAʾila al-Swīsiyya_, Arabic translation (c. 1900)
- _Swiss Family Robinson_ (1940 film)
- _Swiss Cheese Family Robinson_ (Mighty Mouse episode, 1947)
- _Swiss Family Robinson_ (1960 Walt Disney film)
- _The Swiss Family Robinson_ (1976)
- _The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson_ (1998)

**Television series**
- _English Family Robinson_ (1957)
- _Lost in Space_ (1965-1968) - science fiction adaptation in which the Robinsons are a family of explorers whose spacecraft goes off course. Identical concept to, but not based upon, the _Space Family Robinson_ comic book listed below.
- _Swiss Family Robinson_ (1974) — Canadian series starring Chris Wiggins
- _Swiss Family Robinson_ (1975) — American series starring Martin Milner
- _The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island_—(1981) anime series.
- _The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson_ (1998) — New Zealand series starring Richard Thomas

**Made for TV 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)
- _The New Swiss Family Robinson_ (1998) — Starring Jane Seymour, James Keach, and David Carradine
- _Stranded_ (2002)

**Comic book series**
- _Space Family Robinson_ (1962 to 1984) - science fiction adaptation

**Stage adaptations**
- _Swiss Family Robinson_ written by Jerry Montoya and performed at B Street Theatre in Sacramento, California in 2009.

**Computer adventure game**
- _Swiss Family Robinson_ (computer game) created in 1984 by Tom Snyder Productions for the Apple II and Commodore 64, published under the Windham Classics label.  The player takes the role of Fritz, the eldest brother.

**Parody**
- _The New Swiss Family Robinson_ by Owen Wister (1882).

## Related pages

- _Robinson Crusoe_
- _Castaway_
- _The Coral Island_
- _Lost in Space_

## Other websites

- The Swiss Family Robinson; GoodReads