[Defoe, Daniel (1661?-1731)]

8vo (192 x 115mm.), xvi, 464pp., illustration: one folding engraved map, 5 engraved plates, binding: contemporary calf, some leaves lightly browned, upper joint rubbed 

Moore 511; not in Furbank and Owens

first edition. Traditionally considered a work of fiction by Daniel Defoe (the preface alludes to a "transcriber" who expected the work to be taken as "such another romance as Robinson Cruso' "), Neil Rennie, in the Oxford DNB, states that "careful research has confirmed much of the maritime background of the work, and reaffirmed Robert Drury's status as a real person, not a character in a novel by Defoe". According to Rennie, Drury (1687-1734?) was captured on Madagascar in 1702, at the age of 13, and lived there until he was rescued in 1717. He later returned to Madagascar to procure slaves for sale in Virginia.