Daniel Defoe: A Study of His Life

by William Minto

Daniel Defoe is part of the English Men of Letters series, edited by John Morley.

180 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1879

About the author

Scottish academic, journalist, novelist, critic and editor.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as in connection with Defoe's The Storm (the two works were combined in one volume). You can read my review here. I was confused about whether The Storm was really a work of fiction or not, and Minto really helped to put it in its historical context as an example of the journalistic standards of the day.

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm afraid that all but the most serious Defoe nerds will be disappointed with this one. It gives some valuable historical contextualization and there are some golden moments where Minto shines, such as the last few pages, but all in all, it's tedious and doesn't give a very satisfying or thorough portrait of Defoe.