author
Robert Drury
1687–1743
A teenage English sailor was shipwrecked off Madagascar and spent about fifteen years there before returning home to tell a story that fascinated readers for generations. His vivid account mixes survival, travel, and one of the era’s most memorable captivity narratives.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1687, Robert Drury was an English sailor whose life changed dramatically when the Degrave was wrecked on the coast of Madagascar while he was still in his teens. He is remembered for the narrative published under his name about his long captivity on the island and the years he spent living among Malagasy communities.
That book, first published in the eighteenth century as Madagascar; or, Robert Drury’s Journal, became well known for its lively descriptions of daily life, customs, conflict, and survival. It has often been linked with Daniel Defoe, and scholars have debated exactly how much of the text was Drury’s own telling and how much may have been shaped by an editor or writer.
Even with those questions, Drury’s story remained influential as a rare English-language account of Madagascar from the period. He is generally recorded as having died sometime between 1743 and 1750, so the often-given date of 1743 should be treated as uncertain.