Wyss, Johann David Von
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1743-1818) Swiss philosopher and author, of sf interest for Der Schweizerische Robinson (1812-1813; trans William Godwin as The Family Robinson Crusoe 1814) [for subtitles of original and trans see Checklist below], a nonfantastic tale which nevertheless – together with the tale which inspired it, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) – served as a central model for sf tales of the Colonization of Other Worlds (see Imperialism). The book was frequently expanded, modified, adapted, and translated, sometimes competently; these editions are not listed below. For a fuller discussion, see Robinsonade. Wyss is sometimes confused with his son Johan Rudolf Wyss (1781-1830), who edited the MS of The Swiss Family Robinson and himself published the first edition of the final book. Its original English translator William Godwin (1756-1836) was Mary Shelley's father. [JC]
Johann David Wyss
born Bern, Switzerland: 4 March 1743
died Bern, Switzerland: 11 January 1818
works
- Der Schweizerische Robinson; oder Der schiffbrüchige Schweizer-Prediger und seine Familie: ein lehrreiches Buch für Kinder und Kinderfreunde zu Stadt under Land (Zurich, Switzerland: Orell, Füssli und Compagnie/Johann Rudolf Wyss, 1812-1813) [published in two volumes: binding unknown/]
- The Family Robinson Crusoe: Or, Journal of a Father Shipwrecked, with his Wife and Children, on an Uninhabited Island. Translated from the German (London: M J Godwin and Company, 1814) [published in two volumes: trans by William Godwin of the above: binding unknown/]
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