This story of a Swiss family - a pastor, his wife and their four sons - shipwrecked on an uninhabited island was written by a Swiss army chaplain for the entertainment of his own four sons. It tells of the family's adventures in survival, and gives a starting point for lessons in natural history.

Shipwrecked on an unchartered island, the Swiss Family Robinson - mother, father and four young boys - make the most of their predicament, adapting to the island and turning the absence of civilization to their advantage. Through perseverance, hard work and self reliance, they become masters of their new environment.