Book description
Britain in the early eighteenth century: an introduction that is both
informative and imaginative, reliable and entertaining. To the tradition
of travel writing Daniel Defoe brings a lifetime's experience as a
businessman, soldier, economic journalist and spy, and his Tour (1724-6)
is an invaluable source of social and economic history. But this book is
far more than a beautifully written guide to Britain just before the
industrial revolution, for Defoe possessed a wild, inventive streak that
endows his work with astonishing energy and tension, and the Tour is his
deeply imaginative response to a brave new economic world. By employing
his skills as a chronicler, a polemicist and a creative writer keenly
sensitive to the depredations of time, Defoe more than achieves his aim
of rendering 'the present state' of Britain. Daniel Defoe (c.
1660-1731), one of the most famous writers in English literature, was
born in London, the son of James Foe, a butcher. It was Daniel who
changed his name to De Foe or Defoe in about 1705. He was interested in
politics and opposed King James II. After the Glorious Revolution in
1688 and William III was on the throne, Defoe became one of his personal
friends. He became a writer for the government and a satircal writer on
various social issues of the time. He turned to full time writing after
hearing the inspirational story of a sailor who was rescued after living
alone on a desert island in the Pacific, the result being his first
novel ROBINSON CRUSOE. Several other adventure stories followed,
including MOLL FLANDERS.
