Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe was born in Fore Street, London, during the summer or early autumn of 1660. His family name was originally Foe, and he later added the aristocratic-sounding De to create his famous identity. The year 1665 brought death to his neighborhood when seventy thousand people died from the Great Plague of London. The following year, the Great Fire of London destroyed almost every building on his street. Only three houses remained standing after the flames consumed the area where he lived as a child.
His father James worked as a tallow chandler and belonged to the Worshipful Company of Butchers. Alice, his mother, had passed away by the time Daniel reached ten years old. He attended boarding school run by Reverend James Fisher in Pixham Lane, Dorking. Later, at age fourteen, he studied under Charles Morton at Newington Green. This dissenting academy operated outside the established Church of England during a period of intense persecution for those who worshipped differently.
Defoe entered business as a general merchant dealing in hosiery, woollen goods, and wine. He purchased a country estate and even bought a ship to expand his trade operations. On the 1st of January 1684, he married Mary Tuffley, whose dowry amounted to £3,700. Despite this substantial sum, he remained perpetually in debt throughout his life. His political troubles often complicated his financial situation further.
In 1685, Defoe joined the Monmouth Rebellion against King James II. He received a pardon that saved him from the Bloody Assizes conducted by Judge George Jeffreys. Queen Mary and William III were crowned together in 1689, making Defoe one of their close allies. New policies created conflicts with France that damaged his prosperous trade relationships. In 1692, authorities arrested him for debts totaling £700 while his total liabilities may have reached £17,000. He declared bankruptcy and spent time in debtors prison before eventually rebuilding his career.
His most famous pamphlet appeared in December 1702 under the title The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters. This satirical work mocked both high church Tories and hypocritical dissenters who practiced occasional conformity. Authorities quickly discovered the true authorship despite its anonymous publication. On the 31st of July 1703, Defoe stood in the pillory at the Old Bailey trial presided over by Judge Salathiel Lovell. The judge sentenced him to a fine of 200 marks plus public humiliation and imprisonment until the debt was paid.
Robert Harley brokered Defoe's release from Newgate Prison in exchange for intelligence services. Harley paid some outstanding debts to improve Defoe's financial situation considerably. Within a week of leaving prison, Defoe witnessed the Great Storm of November 1703 which killed more than eight thousand people. He later published The Storm in 1704 as one of the first examples of modern journalism featuring eyewitness accounts. His periodical A Review of the Affairs of France ran three times weekly without interruption until 1713 while supporting various political ministries.
Harley ordered Defoe to travel to Edinburgh in September 1706 as a secret agent promoting the Act of Union 1707. He used underhand methods to predispose Scottish opinion in favor of the treaty between England and Scotland. Defoe reported vivid descriptions of violent demonstrations against the union proposal. One crowd surged up High Street shouting No Union and No English dogs while threatening his life. Years later John Clerk wrote that Defoe remained perfectly unsuspected despite corresponding with anyone in England.
He influenced proposals put before Parliament by telling Scots they could trust guarantees in the Treaty. Some pamphlets appeared written by Scots to mislead historians into quoting them as evidence of genuine Scottish opinion. In 1709 he published The History of the Union of Great Britain printed in Edinburgh by the Heirs of Anderson. This work gave details about events leading back to the 6th of December 1604 when King James I received a unification proposal. Defoe made no attempt to explain why the same Parliament became so supine in 1706 after being vehemently independent from 1703 to 1705.
The Complete English Tradesman appeared in 1726 as an example of Defoe's political economic writings. He argued that British trade systems were far superior to international alternatives. Defoe stated that an estate is merely a pond while trade functions like a spring. He praised practicality within both economy and social stratification systems. Most British gentry members had been linked to trade through personal experience marriage or genealogy at some point.
Younger noble family members often entered business themselves while marriages between noblemen and tradesmen daughters remained common. Defoe demonstrated high respect for tradesmen since he was one himself. He claimed trade served as a better catalyst for social change than war ever could. Expansion of the British Empire would increase commerce at home through job creation and consumption growth. Increased production raised wages for the poor thereby lifting part of society out of poverty according to his analysis.
Robinson Crusoe published in 1719 tells the story of a man shipwrecked on a desert island for twenty-eight years. Throughout its episodic narrative Crusoe struggles with faith while bargaining with God during life-threatening crises. He turns his back after deliverances but finally finds contentment following a genuine conversion experience. The novel has been assumed based partly on Scottish castaway Alexander Selkirk who spent four years stranded in Juan Fernández Islands. His island Más a Tierra received new name Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966.
Captain Singleton appeared in 1720 covering African traversal before tapping contemporary fascination with piracy. Its description of African geography suggests eyewitness experience rather than fiction writer knowledge. A Journal of the Plague Year published in 1722 reads both as novel and nonfiction account of London's Great Plague of 1665. Moll Flanders from 1722 follows a lone woman through material and spiritual redemption despite her crimes as whore bigamist and thief. Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress narrates moral decline of high society courtesan without exhibiting conversion experience even though she claims penitence later.
Defoe used at least 198 different pen names throughout his writing career. Only about 75 works can be attributed to him when counting only those published under his own name or known pseudonym. Scholar George Chalmers created expanded lists with over one hundred titles plus twenty additional books supposed to be Defoe's. He ultimately attributed 174 works to Defoe based on style and thinking patterns. Many attributions came long after his death including Moll Flanders and Roxana which remained anonymous for over fifty years until Francis Noble named Defoe on title pages in editions published during 1774 and 1775.
Biographers P.N. Furbank and W.R. Owens built upon this canon relying on belief rather than absolute certainty. J.R. Moore generated the largest list containing approximately 550 works he attributed to Defoe. The Cambridge History of English Literature section by William P. Trent attributes 370 works to him. This scholarly debate continues regarding how many texts truly originated from his hand versus other contemporary writers who adopted similar styles.
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Common questions
When and where was Daniel Defoe born?
Daniel Defoe was born in Fore Street, London during the summer or early autumn of 1660. His family name was originally Foe before he added De to create his famous identity.
What happened to Daniel Defoe's neighborhood in 1665 and 1666?
The Great Plague of London killed seventy thousand people in 1665 while the Great Fire of London destroyed almost every building on his street in 1666. Only three houses remained standing after the flames consumed the area where he lived as a child.
Why did Daniel Defoe stand in the pillory on the 31st of July 1703?
Daniel Defoe stood in the pillory at the Old Bailey trial because authorities discovered the true authorship of his satirical pamphlet The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters. Judge Salathiel Lovell sentenced him to a fine of 200 marks plus public humiliation and imprisonment until the debt was paid.
How did Robert Harley help Daniel Defoe after his release from Newgate Prison?
Robert Harley brokered Daniel Defoe's release from Newgate Prison in exchange for intelligence services and paid some outstanding debts to improve his financial situation considerably. Within a week of leaving prison Daniel Defoe witnessed the Great Storm of November 1703 which killed more than eight thousand people.
What role did Daniel Defoe play during the Act of Union 1707 negotiations?
Daniel Defoe traveled to Edinburgh in September 1706 as a secret agent promoting the Act of Union 1707 using underhand methods to predispose Scottish opinion in favor of the treaty between England and Scotland. He reported vivid descriptions of violent demonstrations against the union proposal while remaining perfectly unsuspected despite corresponding with anyone in England.