History of The Plague in London

by Daniel Defoe

History of The Plague in London

374 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2013

About the author

Daniel Defoe was an English novelist, journalist, merchant, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translations. He has been seen as one of the earliest proponents of the English novel, and helped to popularise the form in Britain with others such as Aphra Behn and Samuel Richardson. Defoe wrote many political tracts, was often in trouble with the authorities, and spent a period in prison. Intellectuals and political leaders paid attention to his fresh ideas and sometimes consulted him.
Defoe was a prolific and versatile writer, producing more than three hundred works—books, pamphlets, and journals—on diverse topics, including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural. He was also a pioneer of business journalism and economic journalism.

Reviews

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Defoe and I like history so I enjoyed the book. I rated it three stars because of some tedium and repetition. It does get a little bogged down in spots, but I enjoyed Defoe's personal reflection on the people of London and their response to a disaster extremely interesting.