The New Swiss Family Robinson: A Tale For Children Of All Ages

by Owen Wister, F. Nichols (Illustrator)

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Genres: Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

Owen Wister was born on July 14, 1860, in Germantown, a neighborhood within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Owen Jones Wister, was a wealthy physician, one of a long line of Wisters raised at the storied Belfield estate in Germantown. His mother, Sarah Butler Wister, was the daughter of actress Fanny Kemble.
Education
He briefly attended schools in Switzerland and Britain, and later studied at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was a classmate of Theodore Roosevelt, an editor of the Harvard Lampoon and a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon (Alpha chapter). Wister graduated from Harvard in 1882.
At first he aspired to a career in music, and spent two years studying at a Paris conservatory. Thereafter, he worked briefly in a bank in New York before studying law, having graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1888. Following this, he practiced with a Philadelphia firm, but was never truly interested in that career. He was interested in politics, however, and was a staunch Theodore Roosevelt backer. In the 1930s, he opposed Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal.
Writing career
Wister had spent several summers out in the American West, making his first trip to Wyoming in 1885. Like his friend Teddy Roosevelt, Wister was fascinated with the culture, lore and terrain of the region. On an 1893 visit to Yellowstone, Wister met the western artist Frederic Remington; who remained a lifelong friend. When he started writing, he naturally inclined towards fiction set on the western frontier. Wister's most famous work remains the 1902 novel The Virginian, the loosely constructed story of a cowboy who is a natural aristocrat, set against a highly mythologized version of the Johnson County War and taking the side of the large land owners. This is widely regarded as being the first cowboy novel and was reprinted fourteen times in eight months.[5] The book is dedicated to Theodore Roosevelt.
Personal life
In 1898, Wister married Mary Channing, his cousin.The couple had six children.
Wister's wife died during childbirth in 1913, as Theodore Roosevelt's first wife had died giving birth to Roosevelt's first daughter, Alice.
Wister died at his home in Saunderstown, Rhode Island. He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Reviews

[Larry]

I perceived my dear wife attired in a pink gauze dress covered with silver spangles, approaching with many graceful bounds. My children clung around me and shed tears of unfeigned joy at having such a mother. Then we joined hands fervently and moved in a sad circle about her as she, poised on one foot, turned round on the other in order to be able to follow our movements

[Janelle]

This has to be the funniest book I have read in a very long time, especially the first half. It was simply hilarious. There's no point reading this unless you have already read Swiss Family Robinson. I read it a number of times in my childhood, and I tried it again more recently. Somehow in the intervening thirty years I lost my childhood naivety and the book became a farce. I just couldn't finish it.
Anyhow, getting back to my point, you really won't appreciate Owen Wister's delightfully parodied version without reading his original inspiration.
Wister's book is titled as being written for children of all ages. Personally I think it would be better enjoyed by grown up children. But it is one of those books with layered humour, some for the adults, and some for the kids.
This would probably be beyond the capability of younger readers, due to the vocabulary. But it would be great fun as a read a loud, if you can stop laughing long enough to read. My kids have long since outgrown being read to. And I'm not sure that even if they were young they could stand reading Swiss Family Robinson. But I sure wish I could share this with someone.
Many thanks to the Librivox narrator for his wonderful reading. His voice was perfect for the task, and I'm sure he added much to my enjoyment. Although managing to read without regular outbursts of laughter is a great achievement. There must have been a lot of editing to reach the final audiobook.

[Zeta T.]

I suppose one will get this best if one reads the original Swiss Family Robinson. I have and I must say there were a few things I got and they were funny. There were also a few bits that are funny regardless. However, there are a number of things that probably bore even better to the time this particular "account" was written. (1922?) A few innuendos may have been hinted at, but then again one could find those almost anywhere whether they are meant or not. It's a quick read and available to listen to on librivox.org