The Cambridge Companion to Daniel Defoe

by John J. Richetti (Editor)

Daniel Defoe had an eventful and adventurous life as a merchant, politician, spy and literary hack. He is one of the eighteenth century’s most lively, innovative and important authors, famous not only for his novels, including Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders, and Roxana, but for his extensive work in journalism, political polemic and conduct guides, and for his pioneering 'Tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain.' This volume surveys the wide range of Defoe's fiction and non-fiction, and assesses his importance as writer and thinker. Leading scholars discuss key issues in Defoe's novels, and show how the man who was once pilloried for his writings emerges now as a key figure in the literature and culture of the early eighteenth century.

266 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

How did literary criticism become a profession that pays hundreds of thousands of dollars a year? Compared to the rigorous logic I'm used to in philosophy, this analysis is either too naive or pointless. It's like reading an extended version of a middle school student's weekly assignment. Or they are too complicated and create absurd meaning from the original text. The original author may have spent 2 seconds writing it out their subconscious