Daniel Defoe

ByMartin Anderson

And

Logan Hinderliter

Born to James and Alice Foe of London in 1660

James Foe was a butcher. The Foes were dissenting Protestants,

Protestants that didn’t belong to the Church of England.

Defoe studied at Charles Morton's Academy in London.

His father wanted him to become a minister. He gave up this dream and went into

business.

Defoe married Mary Tuffley in 1684. He was possibly a merchant in Spain from

1678 to 1683. Defoe was part of the Duke of

Monmouth’s failed rebellion against King James II, a Catholic king.

In 1692, Defoe declares bankruptcy after going to debtors prison.

Defoe began writing anonymously in the 1680s.

He mostly wrote political essays. Defoe’s first success came in the form of a

satire, ‘The True-Born Englishman’ in 1701. Defoe was imprisoned in 1703 for his

satire, “The Shortest Way with Dissenters”, an essay in which he uses an ironic voice to depict a religious zealot intent on eradicating dissenters.

Defoe was released from prison because of his talent as a writer. He agreed to write propaganda for Robert Harley, a member of parliament.

He also became an intelligence agent, a line of work that he continued after the Tories fell from power and the Whigs rose.

He continued to write essays while he published The Review from 1704 to 1713.

He changed his name from Foe to Defoe in 1703.

Defoe became on of England’s most important early novelists when he moved away from essays and published Robinson Crusoe in 1719.

Defoe wrote many novels in the same format as Robinson Crusoe in the five years after it was published.

Defoe’s life experiences influenced his novel, Robinson Crusoe.

Crusoe lives by his religion, and by rational thought.

He does what is practical, he gathers food and creates a shelter.

He also takes in Friday, a cannibal, who he reasons, only eats other people because he doesn’t know any better.

Crusoe, with his progressive views, didn’t condemn Friday as a savage. Instead, he takes him in and teaches him Christian values.

These traits were present in Defoe as well, he was religious and progressive.

1720 – Memoirs of a Cavalier 1722 – Journal of the Plague Year 1722 – Moll Flanders 1724 – Roxana These were mostly first person accounts

from extraordinary people. 1724-1727 - Tour thro’ the Whole Island

of Great Britain This was an economic survey of England

and Scotland.

Defoe continued his intelligence career while he wrote.

Defoe abandoned his home and family in 1729 to disappear into London.

Defoe died on April 26, 1731 . He had written over 400 pamphlets and

books.

"Defoe, Daniel." British Authors Before 1800. 1952. Biography Reference Bank. H. W. Wilson. MASH Media Center, Meadville, PA. 27 May 2009 <http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/.

"Defoe, Daniel." Encyclopedia of British Writers, 18th Century. 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File. MASH Media Center. 27 May 2009 <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EBWXVIII104&SingleRecord=True>.

Liukkonen, Petri. "Daniel Defoe." Books and Writers. 2008. Net Trekker. MASH Media Center. 27 May 2009 <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/defoe.htm>.