Daniel Defoe: His Life

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Throughout one of English history's most tumultuous periods, Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) took part in and reported on nearly every major political, religious, and social controversy. This widely acclaimed biography offers a fascinating account of Defoe's remarkable life. Paula Backscheider reveals new information about Defoe's secret career as a double agent, his daring business ventures, his dangerous pen—and his cat-and-mouse games with those who sought to control it. This is the definitive biography of one of ...

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More About This Book

Overview

Throughout one of English history's most tumultuous periods, Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) took part in and reported on nearly every major political, religious, and social controversy. This widely acclaimed biography offers a fascinating account of Defoe's remarkable life. Paula Backscheider reveals new information about Defoe's secret career as a double agent, his daring business ventures, his dangerous pen—and his cat-and-mouse games with those who sought to control it. This is the definitive biography of one of eighteenth-century England's most influential figures—and one of the most prolific and widely read authors of all time

The Johns Hopkins University Press

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Editorial Reviews

New York Times Book Review

For the first time everything we know about Defoe is presented in a single orderly sequence..A searching study of a complex man, one that is coherent and credible for our times.

Washington Post Book World

A very considerable work of scholarship, and the first to give this prolific writer the extended treatment he after all deserves.

Independent on Sunday

Paula Backscheider spins this absorbing narrative with meticulous scholarship and lucidity.

Library Journal
Charles Gildon has Defoe say of Robinson Crusoe, ``I drew thee from the consideration of my own Mind; I have been all my Life that Rambling Inconsistent Creature, which I have made thee.'' Backscheider reveals how right Gildon was, showing ``a man struggling to reconcile conflicting loyalties and competing strategies'' but always trying to be useful, well thought of, and rich, a loyal Dissenter though he may have been excommunicated. Multifaceted and multitalented--journalist, merchant, novelist, spy--Defoe emerges as complex yet comprehensible. The work also paints a clear picture of Defoe's political, social, and economic milieu. The first full-length biography of Defoe in 30 years, this well-written, well-illustrated book is a necessary addition to all collections.-- Joseph Rosenblum, Univ. of North Carolina, Greensboro
Booknews
An excellent biography, the first since 1958, of a man whose life was an adventure rivaling Robinson Crusoe's. Backscheider (English, U. of Rochester) reveals new information about Defoe's secret career as a double agent, his daring business ventures, and his cat-and-mouse games with those who wanted to control the press and his dangerous pen. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
John Taylor
The outstanding virtue of this biography is its evocation of the complex political climate in which Defoe lived.
—John Taylor, San Francisco Chronicle
Pat Rogers
For the first time everything we know about Defoe is presented in a single orderly sequence…a searching study of a complex man, one that is coherent and credible for our times.
—Pat Rogers, New York Times Book Review
Terry Eagleton
Paula Backscheider spins this absorbing narrative with meticulous scholarship and lucidity.
—Terry Eagleton, Independent on Sunday
John Kenyon
A very considerable work of scholarship, and the first to give this prolific writer the extended treatment he after all deserves.
—John Kenyon, Washington Post Book World
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780801845123
  • Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
  • Publication date: 8/1/1992
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 671
  • Product dimensions: 6.19 (w) x 9.25 (h) x 1.65 (d)

Meet the Author

Paula Backscheider is the Philpott-Stevens Eminent Scholar in the Department of English at Auburn University. She is the author of several books, including Revising Women: Eighteenth-Century "Women's Fiction" and Social Engagement and Eighteenth-Century Women Poets and Their Poetry, both published by Johns Hopkins.

The Johns Hopkins University Press

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