Description
Book SynopsisThe Life of Daniel Defoe examines the entire range of Defoe's writing in the context of what is known about his life and opinions. * A critical study of the writing of Daniel Defoe. * Features extended and detailed commentaries on Defoe's political and religious journalism, as well as on his narrative fictions.
Trade Review“Richetti reminds us why so many of Defoe’s works are still worth reading … [
The Life of Daniel Defoe] is a welcome addition to the family of biographies trying to render three-dimensional the man behind so many voices.”
Studies In English Literature 1500-1900
"Richetti does a remarkable job."
18th-Century Studies
"Richetti's contributions to the study of 18th century fiction have established him among the foremost critics…he has been brilliant in his treatment of Defoe."
1650-1850 Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era
"Richetti conscientiously explains the political controversies that possessed Defoe … When he reaches his chapters on Defoe’s novels you get the eloquent condensation of his expertise."
London Review of Books
“[Richetti] brings us closer than any previous biographer to the personality that ‘must have been lurking somewhere behind the various voices that he projected’ over forty years of writing. This is an urbane, well informed, and interesting account, not only of Defoe but of the entire Defoe enterprise.” Scriblerian
Table of ContentsPreface vi
Acknowledgments x
1 Dissenter, Merchant, Speculator,Writer 1
2 Early Writings 1697–1703: Projects, Dissent, Poems 31
3 Political Journalism: 1697–1710 70
4 Political Agent and Journalist: Queen Anne to the Hanoverians 113
5 Moral, Social, and Economic Writings 1714–31 143
6 Robinson Crusoe 174
7 Travel, Politics, and Adventure 213
8 Crime and Narrative 234
9 Roxana: A Novel of Crime and Punishment 268
10 History, Facts, and Literature 301
11 Political Journalist and Moral Censor: 1715–31 337
Notes 362
Bibliography 390
Index 395
