Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) was a versatile and prolific English writer and publicist. It is believed that it was he who made the literary genre of the novel popular in Great Britain. The most famous hero of his works in the world is Robinson Crusoe. In total, Defoe wrote more than 500 books, magazines and pamphlets on a variety of topics, ranging from politics and economics to religion, psychology and family. He laid the foundations of economic journalism and is considered the founder of British intelligence.
Childhood and adolescence
Daniel Defoe was born around 1660 near London in the small town of Cripplegate. His father's name was Jay Fo, he was a fairly wealthy merchant, sold meat and, in addition to this, also had a small candle factory. Both father and mother were ardent Puritan dissidents, that is, they opposed the English mainstream church.
Daniel's parents prepared him for the Presbyterian pastorate, so at the age of 14 they sent him to theological seminary. After her, the young man graduated from Morton Academy in Stoke Newington. He, as an exemplary student, studied Greek, Latin and classical literature well, but all this was not interesting for the young man. He was fascinated by commerce and trading, and Daniel was ready to do this all his life. Although, all the same, he always remembered the Newington school with warmth because it gave him a lot of necessary knowledge.
Trade
At the age of nineteen, Defoe completed his studies and, as his father advised him, began commercial activity. In London there was an office of a wholesale hosiery company that dealt with foreign countries. Daniel's father sent him to this office to study trade practice and accounting; the young man combined his studies with work as a clerk for a hosiery merchant.
Defoe graduated from the office in 1685 and immediately began the wholesale hosiery trade in Cornhill. The company he opened lasted until 1695. Then he was engaged in the trade in bricks and tiles, wines and tobacco. On duty, he had to visit Portugal, France and Spain, where he became acquainted with European life and studied foreign languages.
Very often Daniel entered into risky transactions, was repeatedly on the verge of bankruptcy, but always found a way out of the current situation.
Policy
In addition to commerce, Daniel was always interested in religious and political struggle. For example, in 1685 he was a participant in the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, who opposed the policies of James II Stuart. On July 6, 1685, the Battle of Sedgemoor took place, the rebels lost it, the authorities then strangled the uprising, the Duke was executed, and Defoe himself barely managed to hide from persecution.
Back in 1681, he began to become interested in poetry and wrote poems on religious topics. And in 1687 he wrote his first pamphlet, in which he discussed freedom of conscience and addressed His Royal Highness. The occasion was the recently signed declaration ending punitive religious laws. This first literary performance established Defoe as a good writer and a mature politician, although he was only 26 years old at the time. However, many of his friends did not accept such opposition to the royal declaration. This greatly disappointed Defoe and he abandoned his literary intentions and again took up exclusively trading.
But after a few years, Daniel returned to literature. He wrote satirical poems and essays, pamphlets and treatises in which he exposed unjust laws and called for reforms. His satire was very popular among the people, and Defoe soon became a prominent political figure.
When Queen Anne came to power, Defoe went to prison for his pamphlets and was pilloried three times.
To be freed from prison, Daniel had to cooperate with the authorities; he became a secret agent and carried out government assignments for several years.
Biography[ | ]
Born in London into the family of Presbyterian meat merchant James Faw (1631-1712), he received a clergy education and trained to become a pastor, but abandoned a church career. He was engaged in commercial activities. In 1681 he began to write poetry on religious themes.
He took part in the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion against James II Stuart and the Battle of Sedgemoor on July 6, 1685, which was lost by the rebels.
After graduating from Newington Academy, where he studied Greek and Latin and classical literature, he became a clerk at a wholesale hosiery merchant. On trade matters he often visited Spain, Portugal and France, where he became acquainted with the life of Europe and improved his languages.
Subsequently, he himself was at one time the owner of a hosiery production and then first the manager and then the owner of a large brick and tile factory, he sold wine, but went bankrupt[4].
In 1688, William of Orange entered England, and Defoe immediately joined his army. Defoe was inspired by the thought of supporting the plans of his beloved King William; he had one goal - to protect the highly revered, almost adored hero from the slander of his enemies. During this time, Defoe wrote a number of his most remarkable works. The most prominent among them are: “An Essay upon Projects,” which deals with improvements in politics, trade, pedagogy and charity (Defoe’s first work, written in 1697); “The Poor Man's Plea,” in which the author wittily defends the poor from the false accusations being made against them and suggests that the hypocritical reformers dry up first of all themselves; “The True-born Englishman” is a satire that is a rebuke to the pamphlet that had just appeared in print, directed against the personality of William III.
All this drew William's attention to Defoe. A talented shopkeeper was called to the palace; the king gave him topics for political pamphlets and more than once had the opportunity to use his advice.
After the death of William III in 1702, Defoe's position changed significantly. The accession of Queen Anne Stuart marked the beginning of a reaction whose character was mainly clerical and, to some extent, Jacobite.
Defoe did not immediately understand the true state of affairs under the new order. Still taking part in the discussion of topical issues, he entered into controversy about the so-called “random agreement”. The issue was whether the dissenters should deviate from the rule they had adopted not to attend divine services of the state church in cases where attendance was part of the official duties of an official.
At first, Defoe decided the issue in favor of observing rituals; but, noticing that the dissenters began to look at him as a traitor, and seeing at the same time that support for the bill came from the enemies of toleration, he quickly changed tactics and, hiding his name, published a pamphlet entitled: “The shortest reprisal against the dissenters.” "(The Shortest Way with the Dissenters), in which, adopting the tone and manner of a representative of reaction, he advised taking the most brutal measures against the dissenters. The reactionaries were misled and at first warmly welcomed the unknown author; but when it became known that the author of the pamphlet was a dissenter himself, the government found it necessary to bring Defoe to trial. Defoe first went into hiding, but then decided to “surrender to the mercy of the government.” The court sentenced him to a fine, three times in the pillory, bail to ensure his proper behavior, and imprisonment for a period depending on the mercy of the queen.
While imprisoned in Newgate Prison, Defoe had the opportunity to engage in literature, print and distribute his works. Here, by the way, he wrote “A Hymn to the Pillory,” thanks to the timely distribution of which among the public, the time of standing at the pillory turned into a triumph for him: the crowd gave him a brilliant ovation. In Newgate, Defoe began publishing a newspaper: A Review of the Affairs of France, which was published even after his release from prison, until 1712. Thanks to this literary and political publication, Defoe is considered one of the founders of the English periodical press.
Robert Harley, who greatly appreciated Defoe's talent, had no difficulty in obtaining Defoe's pardon when he agreed to become a secret agent of the Tories, his former enemies. A week after his release, Defoe witnessed the catastrophic "Great Storm" that struck the west of southern England on December 7-8, 1703. The following year, the writer published his book “The Storm” about him.
During the reign of Queen Anne and then under George I, Defoe switched from Whig to Tory and back again several times. He served them both with his pen, and by direct influence on voters, among whom he moved as a secret agent, and by timely notifications of the political mood and opinions of individuals. During all this time, he completely managed to keep this activity secret, and his reputation remained unshaken, despite numerous accusations and attacks.
In 1715, for the purpose of self-defense, Defoe published An Appeal to Honor and Justice, and from that time only fictional works appeared under his name. One of his biographers, William Lee, managed to discover six letters from Defoe in 1864, stored in the State Archives. From these letters it was discovered that even after 1715 he remained a secret agent, collecting the necessary information mainly in the editorial offices of opposition newspapers. His main victim was a certain Myst, who, having once discovered Defoe’s betrayal, rushed at him with a weapon in his hands and publicly discredited Defoe for the rest of his life.
Defoe wrote more than 500 works, including the novels Robinson Crusoe (1719), The Joys and Sorrows of Moll Flanders (1722), The Happy Courtesan, or Roxana (1724), The Life, Adventures and Pirate Exploits of the Famous Captain Singleton "(1720), "The History of Colonel Jack" (1722), "Diary of the Plague Year" (1722), works "The Perfect English Trader", "Maritime Trade Atlas", "Travel throughout the Island of Great Britain".[4]
Defoe is also credited with publishing in 1724, under the pseudonym Charles Johnson, the book A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates, often abbreviated to the General History of Piracy.
In 1728, as a result of family discord and burdened with debt, Defoe secretly left his home and more than two years later, in April 1731, he died in London in the arms of strangers.
Literature
Defoe was already approaching 60 years of age when he heard the real story of how a sailor from Scotland, Alexander Selkirk, ended up on the uninhabited island of Juan Fernandez in the Pacific Ocean. He lived there for 4 years until he was discovered and picked up by a ship commanded by Woods Rogers. Captain Rogers later described these events in the book “Sailing Around the World.” And soon after this, Defoe also caught the eye of Style’s essay “The History of Alexander Selkirk.” Daniel became seriously interested in this Scottish sailor, and Defoe's creative mind turned a unique story into a large-scale work of art.
Well, who among us, at a very young age, did not read “The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe,” where the main character lived on a deserted island for 28 years and managed not only to survive, but also to create his own personal world.
The success of this novel was so phenomenal that Daniel Defoe soon took up its continuation. In 1719, the novel “The Subsequent Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” was published, and a year later the writer composed “Serious Reflections During the Lifetime and Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe with His Vision of the Angelic World.” But, it must be said that in terms of popularity the next two novels cannot be compared with the first novels; they did not have such reader success.
Now Defoe devoted all his time, and one might say, his life, only to creativity. One after another, works come from his pen:
- 1720 - “Captain Singleton”, “Memoirs of a Cavalier”;
- 1722 - “Colonel Jack” and “Moll Flanders”, “Diary of the Plague Year”;
- 1724 - “Roxana”;
- 1726 - “Travel through England and Scotland.”
His writings were largely dominated by the genre of adventure novels, historical and adventure themes. He also wrote a lot of novels and memoirs.
Report: Defoe Daniel
(c. 1660 - 1731)
Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 or 1661 in London. His father was a butcher.
Daniel's early passion for reading, caused by his insatiable curiosity, caused his mother to have serious fears for her son's future, but gave his father hope that the boy could eventually become a successful merchant or clergyman. His mother did not agree with this opinion, since Daniel was fond of reading books of mainly historical content, descriptions of travel and fantastic adventures.
When Defoe was twelve years old, he was sent to school, where he stayed until he was sixteen. After graduating from school, the young man, at the insistence of his father, entered the office of a wealthy merchant, who promised to make Daniel a participant in his business in a few years. Daniel performed his duties conscientiously. However, not having the slightest inclination towards commercial activity, three years later he became interested in journalism and began publishing his articles on issues that worried society in one of the political magazines.
At the age of twenty, Daniel Defoe joined the army of the Duke of Monmouth, who rebelled against his uncle, Jacob Stuart, who pursued a pro-French policy during his reign. Jacob suppressed the uprising and dealt harshly with the rebels. Daniel Defoe had to hide from persecution.
With the advent of more favorable times, that is, with the accession of William of Orange to the throne, Defoe returned to literary activity. When the people began to grumble that a stranger had been placed on the throne, Daniel Defoe wrote a satirical poem, “The True Englishmen,” in which he showed that the entire English nation consists of a mixture of different tribes, and therefore it is absurd to look with hostility at a king who is impeccable in all respects just because he was born not in England, but in Holland. This poem caused a lot of noise at court and in society. Wilhelm wished to see the author and gave him a rather significant monetary gift.
In 1702, Queen Anne ascended to the English throne, the last of the Stuarts to be influenced by the Conservative party. Defoe wrote his famous satirical pamphlet, The Surest Way to Get Rid of Dissenters. Protestant sectarians in England called themselves dissenters. In this pamphlet, the author advised the parliament not to be shy with the innovators who bothered it and to hang them all or send them to the galleys.
At first, parliament did not understand the true meaning of the satire and were glad that Daniel Defoe directed his pen against the sectarians. Then someone figured out the real meaning of the satire. Parliament declared him a rebel and sentenced him to a fine, pillory and imprisonment. But the enthusiastic people strewed his path to the pillory with flowers and gave him an ovation. During his time in prison, Defoe wrote “Hymn to the Pillory” and managed to publish the magazine “Review”.
Two years later, Defoe was released from prison. On behalf of the minister, Harley went to Scotland on a diplomatic mission - to prepare the ground for the union of Scotland with England. Defoe turned out to be a talented diplomat and brilliantly completed the task assigned to him.
Upon his accession to the English throne of the House of Hanover, Daniel Defoe writes another poisonous article, for which Parliament awarded him a huge fine and imprisonment. This punishment forced him to leave political activity forever and devote himself exclusively to fiction.
After his release from prison, Daniel Defoe publishes Robinson Crusoe. This book was published in 1719. Defoe himself traveled only once: in his youth he sailed to Portugal, and the rest of the time he lived in his homeland. But the writer took the plot of the novel from life. Residents of England at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries could repeatedly hear stories from sailors about people who lived for more or less long periods of time on various uninhabited islands.
But no story of this kind has attracted as much attention as the story of the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, who lived on a desert island all alone for four years and four months (1705-1709) until he was picked up by a passing ship. Selkirk's story served as the most important source for Robinson. This book has earned extraordinary popularity not only in England, but in all countries of the civilized world. The entire novel is imbued with educational ideas - the glorification of reason, optimism and the preaching of work.
Encouraged by the enormous success of Robinson, Daniel Defoe wrote many other works in the same spirit: The Sea Robber, Colonel Jack, A Voyage Around the World, The Political History of the Devil and others. Defoe wrote more than two hundred books and pamphlets, which were popular with his contemporaries. But despite this, he, like other talents, lived and died in poverty in London. Early biographers of Defoe say that the tombstone placed on his grave in the 18th century bore a modest but significant inscription: “Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe.” He died on April 24, 1731, at the age of 70.”
As for the literary significance of Defoe, in this respect he can safely be considered the predecessor of Richardson and Fielding and the founder of that literary school that reached its highest flowering in England under Dickens and Thackeray.
Last years of life and death
Defoe was married to Mary Tuffley, the woman gave birth to eight children for the writer, but it turned out that he died alone.
The last year of Daniel Defoe's life turned out to be terrible and gloomy. The publisher who had deceived him tried to punish him cruelly, although quite deservedly,; he pursued him, attacked him once with a sword, but Defoe, despite his advanced age, was then able to disarm his enemy.
These constant threats and persecutions eventually broke the sickly old man, and he went mad. The man he had deceived threatened with revenge, and Daniel ran away from his family, went into hiding, called himself by a false name, and constantly moved from place to place in different cities of England.
Having wandered around for a while, Defoe returned to England in 1731 and settled in Moorfield, the most remote area of the city. Here the famous creator of Robinson Crusoe died old and alone on April 26, 1731.
None of his relatives knew about his death; the landlady took care of the funeral. She sold the things that were left of Defoe at auction to reimburse herself for funeral expenses.
Personal life
In 1684, Daniel Defoe met Mary Tuffley on his way, whom he immediately began to court. Soon he proposed to the girl, to which she agreed.
This marriage produced 8 children. It is also important to note that Mary had a rich dowry, but soon all her funds were lost due to bankruptcy. As a result, the family incurred terrible debts.
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The Defoe family lived in one of the most criminal areas of London.
Another interesting fact is that the writer himself went out only on Sundays, because on these days debtors were not arrested.
