And it arguably remains popular to this day.
LOL, as a Romantic influenced by fellow Swiss Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Wyss wasn’t looking at the situation in terms of realism. He was probably trying to show Rousseau’s argument that civilization was not to be trusted (“Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains”), and that away from civilization, in a “state of nature”, humans could construct a better, freer society.
So the scenario of six people stranded with all the supplies isn’t just an adventure story; it’s a social and philosophical experiment that demonstrates Rousseau’s ideals.
Yeah, then again, even children could go all “Lord of the Flies”…
Another variant is the play (and 1950s movie) The Admirable Crichton, where the class system is up-ended as the butler is (obvs) the competent leader/manager, and his bumbling employer clueless.
The guys at QI did mention that originally the title was Der Schweizerische Robinson oder der schiffbrüchige Schweizer-Prediger und seine Familie, As Stephen Fry said, in essence it meant: A Swiss family doing a Robinson. (or pulling a Robinson).
Translators mangled it and many later thought that the family was called Robinson. The family, as noted, were not named in the book, it was just a title pointing out that it was a Robinsonade. (Curiously, nowadays, I notice a lot of this in manga or other places: Long title names that are exactly what it says on the tin -or cover-)
The family in the Gold Key comic Space Family Robinson was named “Robinson”, as was the family in the unrelated TV series Lost in Space. Homage, or ignorant creators? Take your pick.