Emory gets big ‘Robinson Crusoe’ collection

Former castaway Robinson Crusoe has settled at Emory University.

The university’s Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library now has 699 editions of Daniel Defoe’s famous novel, regarded by some as the first English-language novel.

The collection, a gift from Emory alumnus Robert Lovett and his wife, Miriam, contains many rare volumes, including a first edition published in 1719.

Robert Lovett compiled a bibliography of 1,198 Crusoe editions, abridgements and adaptations with his son Charles Candler Lovett.