Where did Daniel Defoe find his inspiration for his adventures of Robinson Crusoe? Apparently, his source material was no further away than the viral news of the day.

According to Mike Rendell, author of Crusoe, Castaways & Shipwrecks in the Perilous Age of Sail, Defoe was a bit of a scoundrel in his time and, apparently, a bit of a literary thief as well. Rendell lays out Defoe's personal history, which includes various schemes, overwhelming debts, prison, a bit of journalism, work as a government agent and more. And he kept his ear to the ground, keen for a good story that he could adapt. He found it in various contemporary accounts of shipwreck victims, many of whom published their adventures after being rescued.

It isn't hard to find obvious source material for Crusoe in the true-life tales of Alexander Selkirk, Henry Pitman, Robert Knox and William Dampier. Rendell devotes a chapter to each, explaining the details of their stories and the parallels between the fictional account Defoe later penned. The Life & Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, published 300 years ago, gets its own chapter, filled with details of the narrative's reprints and adaptations over the years.

It's interesting stuff that should appeal to fans of the book itself as well as the history of the Age of Sail.

From there, the book wanders a bit further afield. Rendell, perhaps intending to pad the length his book (which still comes in under 150 pages), tells readers about other shipwrecks, castaways and storms at sea. The book is well researched and well written -- Rendell's knowledge of and enthusiasm for his topic certainly comes across to his audience -- but at some point while reading it I'd forgotten its original focus was Crusoe and Defoe.