Robinson Crusoe is the first desert island narrative, presenting a classic myth of man’s ingenuity in isolation. Popular from the moment of its publication, with four editions in 1719 alone, it went on to spawn numerous imitations in the form of the 19th and 20th century Robinsonade. Whilst originally celebrated by Rousseau on the grounds of Crusoe's self-sufficiency, it has been increasingly subject to more negative imperialist readings as, over time, Crusoe sets about possessing, taming and colonising the island and its indigenous visitors. Such readings directly connect with the text’s spatiality: the relationships between centre and margins, interior and exterior, society and isolation that it encodes.