The classic children’s novel Robinson Crusoe bears little resemblance to the novel authored by Daniel DeFoe in 1719. Decades after the author’s death, editors stripped the novel of its religious center and existential elements to create the tale of adventure and ingenuity that is well-known to generations of readers.

Eva Brann is an authority on Robinson Crusoe and a tutor at St. John’s College, known for its curriculum based on reading the seminal works of Western civilization, where she served as its first woman dean. The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded her its National Humanities Medal in 2005.