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Daniel Defoe


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Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) English novelist, pamphleteer, and journalist, is most famous as the author of Robinson Crusoe (1719), a story of a man shipwrecked alone on an island. Along with Samuel Richardson, Defoe is considered the founder of the English novel.

Defoe was born as the son of James Foe, a butcher of Stroke Newington. He studied at Charles Morton's Academy, London. Although his Nonconformist father intended him for the ministry, Defoe plunged into politics and trade, traveling extensively in Europe. In the early 1680s Defoe was a commission merchant in Cornhill but went bankrupt in 1691. In 1684 he married Mary Tuffley; they had two sons and five daughters.

Defoe earned fame and royal favor with his satirical poem "The True born Englishman" (1701). In 1702 Defoe wrote his famous pamphlet The Shortest Way With Dissenters . Himself a Dissenter he mimicked the extreme attitudes of High Anglican Tories and pretended to argue for the extermination of all Dissenters. Nobody was amused; Defoe was arrested and pilloried in May 1703. While in prison Defoe wrote a mock ode, "Hymn To The Pillory" (1703). The poem was sold in the streets, the audience drank to his health while he stood in the pillory and read aloud his verses.

When the Tories fell from power Defoe continued to carry out intelligence work for the Whig government. In his own days Defoe was regarded as an unscrupulous, diabolical journalist.

Defoe was one of the first to write stories about believable characters in realistic situations using simple prose. He achieved literary immortality when in April 1719 he published Robinson Crusoe, which was based partly on the memoirs of voyagers and castaways, such as Alexander Selkirk. During the remaining years, Defoe concentrated on books rather than pamphlets. Among his works are Moll Flanders(1722), A Journal Of The Plague Year (1722) and Captain Jack(1722) His last great work of fiction, Roxana, appeared in 1724. In the 1720s Defoe had ceased to be politically controversial in his writings, and he produced several historical works, a guide book and The Great Law Of Subordination Considered (1724), an examination of the treatment of servants.

Phenomenally industrious, Defoe produced in his last years also works involving the supernatural, The Political History Of The Devil (1726) and An Essay On The History And Reality Of Apparitions(1727). He died on 26 April 1731, at his lodgings in Ropemaker's Alley, Moorfields.

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Recent Forum Posts on Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe

Hi, could anyone help me? I'm writing an essey on Traditional Robinsonades, but I'm not sure if Robinson Crusoe supported slavery or not? How does Defoe seem to comment on the institution of slavery and issues of race? Does Robinson represent British colonialism and imperialism, is this novel glorifying the subjugation of other cultures?

Posted By jecika at Mon 23 Apr 2007, 4:29 AM in Defoe, Daniel || 0 Replies

Daniel Defoe's Dickory Cronke

I embarked upon the daunting task of hacking my way through this sentence-run-on novel, but found that I couldn't get past half the first part. :(. I believe the main reason for this was Defoe's excessive use of semi-colons and camas in order shove each one of his paragraphs into one whole sentence. Can anyone here tell me if it is just me who finds Dickory Cronke difficult to read and absorb or are the sentence run-ons and---by today's standards---erroneous usage of punctuation two faculties which make this book difficult to read?--Thanks: An excerpt from the first part: " When he came to be eight years of age, his mother agreed with a person in the next village, to teach him to read and write, both which, in a very short time, he acquired to such perfection, especially the latter, that he not only taught his own brothers and sisters, but likewise several young men and women in the neighbourhood, which often brought him in small sums, which he always laid out in such necessaries as he stood most in need of. In this state he continued till he was about twenty, and then he began to reflect how scandalous it was for a young man of his age and circumstances to live idle at home, and so resolves to go with his father to the mines, to try if he could get something towards the support of himself and the family; but being of a tender constitution, and often sick, he soon perceived that sort of business was too hard for him, so was forced to return home and continue in his former station; upon which he grew exceeding melancholy, which his mother observing, she comforted him in the best manner she could, telling him that if it should please God to take her away, she had something left in store for him, which would preserve him against public want" _________________ I know that Defoe was a terrific author (I would never dare compare myself with him) and displayed his incredibly strong knack for immaculate story-telling in Robinson Crusoe (which I incidentally loved at an earlier age), but this Dickory Conke book looks like complete gibberish :(.

Posted By Adolescent09 at Fri 13 Apr 2007, 1:27 AM in Defoe, Daniel || 1 Reply

daniel defoe - his comments about village constables

Does anyone know of a pamphlet or paper written by Defoe about the role of village constables in the early eighteenth century? any quotes or references would be helpful. thanks:flare:

Posted By standupoems at Wed 13 Sep 2006, 3:57 PM in Defoe, Daniel || 1 Reply

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