The Storm

by Daniel Defoe

On the evening of November 26, 1703, a hurricane from the north Atlantic hammered into it remains the worst storm the nation has ever experienced. Eyewitnesses saw cows thrown into trees and windmills ablaze from the friction of their whirling sails—and some 8,000 people lost their lives. For Defoe, bankrupt and just released from prison for his "seditious" writings, the storm struck during one of his bleakest moments. But it also furnished him with material for his first book, and in this powerful depiction of suffering and survival played out against a backdrop of natural devastation we can trace the outlines of Defoe’s later masterpieces, A Journal of the Plague Year and Robinson Crusoe .

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Genres: Classics, History, 18th Century, Nonfiction, British Literature, Audiobook, Literature

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1704

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

[W.D. Clarke · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Editor of this Book has labour’d under some Difficulties in this Account: and one of the chief has been, how to avoid too many Particulars, the Crowds of Relations which he has been oblig’d to lay by to bring the Story into a Compass tolerable to the Reader.(179)

Viz.,
A Quantitative/Numerological Analysis
Of Whatever TF This Book Is S'posed To Be:

# of occurrences of the word Storm: 454
# of occurrences of the word Wind: 350
# of occurrences of the word Blow : 317
# of occurrences of the word Sea : 227
# of occurrences of the word Violent/ce: 116
# of occurrences of the word Tempest: 88

# of occurrences of the word Ship : 250
# of occurrences of the word Church : 168
# of occurrences of the word Tree : 143
# of occurrences of the word Bed : 78

# of occurrences of the word Chimney: 76
# of occurrences of the word Window : 66
# of occurrences of the word Roof : 65
# of occurrences of the word Barn : 64
# of occurrences of the word Tile: 47

# of occurrences of the word Kill(ed): 55
# of occurrences of the word Hurt : 34
# of occurrences of the word Dead : 20
# of occurrences of the word Die : 16
# of occurrences of the word Maim('d) : 11


# of occurrences of the word Judgement : 66
# of occurrences of the word Providence: 43
# of occurrences of the word Punish(ment): 21
# of occurrences of the word Deliverance: 21
# of occurrences of the word Repent(ance) : 14
# of occurrences of the word Mercy: 14

And yes, Virginia, there is indeed an Augustinian or neo-Platonic or whatever one-to-one correspondence dealio going on here, on earth as it is in heaven—there is Providence in the fall of a sparrow, and a Divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them how we will:

In publick Callamities, every Circumstance is a Sermon, and every thing we see a Preacher.
—The Lay-Man’s Sermon upon the Late Storm, 1704 (p.186)

No, 1703 was not a very good year (kinda like 2020, unless I too am falling foul of the analogical disease!), with Defoe spending time in Newgate and then the Pillory and poor Olivia Coleman becoming queen and the war with France not going well and the newly-ascendant Tories more intent upon having the shortest way with the dissenters like Mr. D than bringing peace and prosperity to the nation and to Europe...surely some Reveleation was/is at hand?

When ever our rulers think fit to see it, and to employ the Men and the Methods which Heaven approves, then we may expect success from abroad, Peace at home, prosperity in Trade, Victory in War, plenty in the Field, Mild and Comfortable Seasons, Calm Air, Smooth Seas, and safe Habitations.

Till then we are to expect our Houses Blown down, our Pallaces Shatter’d, our Voyages broken, our Navys Shipwreck’d, our Saylors Drown’d, our Confedrates Beaten, our Trade ruin’d, our Money spent and our Enemies encreased.

Yes, I feel it too, some window of judgement hast open'd,
As some rough beast , its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem, PA to be born(!)(?)

[Yonina · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I found this tiresome and then I found it entrancing in the meditative repetition of its losses. Credible tales are all averred against inevitable doubt. Innumerable losses will nevertheless be enumerated. The lead of ceilings rolled up like paper; trees snapped and laid down and torn up with roots larger than a man’s torso. Deliverance. Death. Barns blown quite down, quite down, chimneys down, the cost of tiles is now quite impossible to afford.
Your dedicated servant,

[Edward Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book but I would not necessarily recommend it to everyone. If, however, you like eighteenth-century disaster stories, particularly with a lot of death, then this book is for you!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Storm is centered on a hurricane that hit England, including London, on November 26–27, 1703. The strongest winds were approximately eighty mph sustained between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., and covered an area 300 miles wide. Defoe experienced the storm first-hand, and tells his account of the impact and the damage that he witnessed that morning. Defoe also published ads inviting residents across England to write-in their accounts, and that those accounts would be compiled in a book so that the storm would be remembered for posterity. Defoe mixed fact and fiction in his later writings, and may have done so to some extent in the Storm. As 19th-century critic William Minto notes, “it is possible that the letters are genuine, and that he compiled other details from published accounts.” (Daniel Defoe, Chapter III, by William Minto).

The letters from the public show great variety in the details of individual experiences with the storm. There were many tragic and sad deaths, and many miraculous escapes from death. The stories have a common theme of the severity of the storm. Many homes were demolished, roof tiles and other objects becoming deadly projectiles flying through towns. The strongest winds sweeping through at 1:00 a.m., most people had been in bed and so caught off guard (there were no weather forecasts to speak of in 1703). Defoe speaks of noticing the barometer being so low, he was sure one of the children had been playing with it, as it could not possibly go that low on its own. Many other households likely had the same experience. Even if they interpreted the barometric pressure accurately, there was little they could do in response that evening.

Defoe’s writing style is clear and very engaging in this book, though his writing is less than half of The Storm. Most of it comprises the write-in letters from the public in answer to Defoe’s invitation. The letters bring a local flavor that complements Defoe’s own account, and makes the reader feel closer to the experience on the ground.

The Penguin edition comes with an excellent introduction by Richard Hamblyn. It establishes the context of the times, and Defoe in relation to his audience and the establishment. For example, Defoe had spent time in prison recently for published attacks on high-level officials in Queen Anne’s government. He was released about a week before the storm hit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_...). Defoe was already a well-known “pundit” as we might call him today; before he had published any of his famous novels (The Storm was his first book).

The Penguin edition also includes a very helpful chronology and maps to give more context. The book represents a compelling slice of history, which sheds light on the culture of its time and place. I recommend The Storm to anyone interested in British history, world history, literature, or simply a good book to read.

[Cathy Mijatovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book. It was heart wrenching the testimonies of those on board sea vessels. Reading all the letters stating the effects of the storm, really gives you a taste of what nature can do. Many believing it was punishment for the sins of the many. Yet also praising god for making the tempest not as bad as he could have. I am not religious, but in those days without tv or media, these once in a lifetime (or two) events, with little knowledge of weather occurring worldwide (Or similar disasters), They needed help and guidance to help them through these terrible times. Also its reading real life natural disasters that you have to realise, that if it happened once in a blue moon, it can surely happen again. For me it means heeding warning. Yes it may not happen, but the events unfolding, if not veering off current track, can easily become another catastrophe.

[Amaani · Rating 1 out of 5]

One word: Boring. Uni has taken over my life! Review to follow. Hopefully.

[Andre Piucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

"But, the treasury of immediate cause is generally committed to nature; and if at any time we are driven to look beyond her, it is because we are out of the way: it is not because it is not in her, but because we cannot find it."

[Dave Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Storm of 1703 was significant not only because of its freakish nature, taking place on the verge of winter in the North Atlantic, and the tremendous damage it wrought to English shipping and trade, but to the fact that it likely spawned the whole industry of mass media.

Because of strict printing laws, only one newspaper, the Oxford Gazette of London, officially existed in 1703. One could find pamphlets, mostly of a political nature, circulating throughout the British Isles but, other than the Crown's Gazette, media was non-existent.

The year before, England's Queen Anne started a war with France and Spain in what was known as the War of Spanish Succession because England challenged French influence in the selection of the new Spanish monarch. The war was waging on the mainland when the unpredicted storm struck England on a northwest to southeast course destroying England's civilian and military fleet.

Recently paroled Daniel Defoe had spent some time in a London pillory being pelted with garbage and excrement for his pamphleteering a cause unpopular with the crown until released by Sir Robert Harley, reputed to be the Crown's chief spymaster. He was looking to find a new means of income when The Storm struck. Owing to Its nationwide inpact, Defoe had placed ads in the Gazette within a week of the event, soliciting stories from people throughout England with the intention of publishing a comprehensive and permanent record of the event.

Almost immediately, correspondences flooded his post box and, for the next few months, he grouped them geographically to give a sense of the scope of the damage. Rather than just taking the data and putting it in his own words, he transcribed the letters, some wholly intact, some edited for length, which each report credited to the correspondent except those begging anonymity. Interestingly, Defoe also received quite a few ribald and phony missives as well, which he left out, but demonstrating that trolls and fake news have been a reality since journalism was first conceived.

Within a few months, Defoe produced and edited his work with trade publisher John Nutt of England, releasing The Storm by mid-1704. While not a blockbuster, it sold respectably, particularly among the middle class and literate tradesmen of England who would find themselves reading long passages to the illiterate masses. This put Defoe in the public sphere and helped shape his writing approach. On one hand, he launched his own newspaper, The Review, which was a scalding critique against France and reputed to be covertly supported by Queen Anne through her spymaster Harley. On the other, he started a literary career, popularizing the English novel often based on real historic events and people.

The lesser discussed but no less profound affect that The Storm had, both the event and the book, was on America itself. Boston was the primary port of entry of the American colonies and devastated as so many American and America-bound ships were destroyed by The Storm. Hundreds of ships were either sunk, swept to sea, or piled up like cordwood in English ports with over 1,000 sailors among the over 8,000 killed.

With England at war, her Navy devasted by the hurricane, and her merchant fleet being pressed into privateering service both at home and in the colonies, it would take decades for the maritime trade to get back to normal.

But information from England dribbled in as ships not destroyed but The Storm were able to pass along what information they knew. The center of the information pipeline was via Boston Portmaster and Postmaster John Campbell, who was always the first person arriving sea captains engaged. Shortly after the time that The Storm was published and had likely made its way to America's principle port, John Campbell launched the Boston News-Letter, the first colonial newspaper. For, while America's first printing press was installed in 1638 at Harvard College, no one had yet found information of note worthy to be gathered and distributed. The Storm, and likely Defoe, changed that.

I first skimmed The Storm about 15 years ago as research for Thatcher. I never delved as completely as this time, thus not understanding the scope and significance of Defoe's work. As such, I did not fully appreciate the profound affect he had in shaping the entire industry of journalism and media. For this reason alone, I think every person who has made a living in media would find this a worthwhile read.

For everyone else, the significance of the storm itself can only be placed in historical context. In the 1600 years of English recorded history prior to it, no such storm had ever been noted. And, after, it stood alone for over 300 years until Hurricane Ophelia ravaged England in October 2017. Both were rated as Category 2 storms. And both should never occurred so far north in the Atlantic.

[Adam Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read The Storm during storm Brenda or Bethel or Bertha or something. As much as these named storms get a dramatic build-up, they’re never as dramatic as they promise to be, certainly compared to the Great Storm of 1703. Even the storm that barrelled past my childhood house in 1987 was nothing compared to the Great Storm of 1703. This storm was a real doozy and was the subject of Daniel Defoe’s first fall length work.

He wrote this piece at a difficult time. Long a writer under William III, he’d lost his patron and stumbled into dangerous territory with his satirical piece The Shortest Way With The Dissenters, where head aped the vicious rhetoric of anti-dissenters with such accuracy that there are still discussions over whether it was meant or not. (Personally, I feel that as a dissenter, Defoe was probably taking the piss). As a result he’d been put in prison while awaiting his punishment by being put in the pillory. This was a serious punishment, people had died from the injuries sustained but he managed to spin the PR in such a way that he was crowned with flowers and released. Most damaging to him, was that his time in prison unravelled his wavering business and sent him bankrupt - most galling, the business made roof tiles, something people needed a lot of after The Great Storm.

It must be this recent run in with the law that gives the book so nervous a tone. The Preface, addressed from ‘The Ages Humble Servant’ takes great pains in stating the methodology of the book and the importance of truth. He talks about how producing a book that’ll reach thousands has a greater duty to truth than a sermon that reaches hundreds. He says how the public were asked for their experiences of the storm and how he, as editor pored through each communication, selecting the ones that support each other and come from the most reputable sources. Compared to the narrator of The Plague Year, which happily mixes fiction and truth, and of his other novels which confidently present the imaginary as history, it’s a really tip-toeing tone, which is maintained throughout.

The book proper begins with a discussion of weather, and what is known about wind in particular. He cites theories, both classical and modern but concludes that ultimately, not much is known. Even the people who have “rifled Nature by the Torch-Light of Reason, even to her very nudities” have no definitive answer. As such, studying natural phenomena like storms always leads a person back to God, his immensity, his power and his unknowability.

The book then goes on to describe his own experiences with the storm in London. I particularly liked the detail of how his barometer dropped so low and so quickly he’d assumed his children had broken it playing. He would also have recorded the wind direction but his weather-vane had been blown off the roof of the house. I found it interesting he had such things, perhaps The Storm was partly written because Defoe had a previous interest in the weather.

The book then includes a large number of accounts from people in different parts of the country about how the storm had effected their local area. There are many tiles blown off, chimneys blown down - sometimes crushing those on beds in rooms below, sometimes missing them. In the countryside there are reports of barns being blown down and hay-ricks blown up, some of them landing fully formed but in a different place. A Somerset correspondent mourns the ‘apples without number’ that have been blown off trees. Bits of churches were blown off and many lead roofs were described as being peeled off or rolled up ‘like parchment’. There was a particularly striking description of windmills being blown so hard, the friction of their gears set them alight.

The drama is higher in costal places and at sea. The Eddystone Lighthouse collapsed with the designer and builder inside, a man is crushed by a ship. Whole fleets were blown as far as Sweden and the descriptions of sailors include huge panic, fear and a little bit of heroism.

To be frank, this information would probably have been presented better as tables or graphs. The repetition of details becomes quite tiresome. There’s a bit more interest when a correspondent is from a place you know, I was particularly interested in the storm’s impact on Grimsby (where I will soon be moving to) and Brighton (where I was born). It’s an interesting snapshot of ‘Brighthelmstone’ before it became a popular holiday destination.

The biggest controversy in the book is probably the differing accounts relating to the seaside town of Deal, where some accounts stated that the townspeople refused to help those in trouble in ships near the town. The Mayor very indignantly tries to argue that the people of Deal simply could not help because his town had been woefully underfunded.

Defoe’s nervous tone doesn’t help the book much. While the introduction suggests that he probably did rewrite many of the letters to shape it, the appearance is one where he simply mediates what was sent to him. He planned to make a sequel of the book by getting correspondence of the storm’s effect over the wider European area, but he never did. The book reminds me of the programme 999, which ran for ten years on the BBC. It used to show dramatic reconstructions of rescues, and even had a special in 1997 about the Great storm of ’87. I have to say, I hated that programme as a child and found it very dull. The Storm was, however, going to be the next step in Defoe’s career, where he’d gain confidence again and become one of the progenitors of the English novel.

[Linda Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Amazing collection of his own observations of the terrible destruction of the storm, which sounds like a tornado/huricane combination from hell, PLUS he asked people of good repute, through newspaper ads, to send him their accounts of storms in their particular towns and villages. With those ads he also heard from ordinary people who weren't pastors or landed gentry or whatever. I suspect 21st C humans will have such storms...maybe regularly.
Defoe had a roof tile business, but he was also often in financial distress and a target for his political writings. He lost his roof tile business which was the VERY THING that would have made him a millionaire after the storm...hundreds of thousands of roof tiles were blown off and smashed in the few days of the storm as it swept across part of England. Very very interesting guy, and gosh in a way he seems so modern!
~ Linda Campbell Franklin

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not the interesting and engaging narrative seen in the Diary of a Plague Year. This has a very similar style but the content is dry and repetitive. However, this could be because this is a collection of scientific research and journalism, whereas the Diary of a Plague Year was a combination of history, research and fiction. The interesting information is how the letters are written and what damage was done. However, I think more of an inclusion of how people or communities felt about the storm and the damage would have allowed for a more engaging narrative instead of the 'list' type contents of the letters. The most interesting accounts are the letters from Miles Norcliffe and the following account of R.P and Defoe's comments on it.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year, a wonderful piece of 18th century journalism. Letters from "witnesses" form part of the account, as does early weather data. How far these were accurate, and how "doctored" they were by Defoe will always be unclear.
Defoe was in trouble with the authorities (again) and had become bankrupt so wrote this for money. Ironically, given the damage done to buildings in the storm, part of his defunct business interests had been a tile making factory.

[Lifely Lena · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's always difficult for me to review books I have to read for uni.
As a classic work of literature I can see how valuable this is and how it sparks conversation on genre, authenticity and "what even is a novel?"
Defoe does something that hadn't been done before and I can appreciate that. Doesn't mean I enjoyed it.
As a book to read for fun I have to say stay far away from this, it will probably bore you to tears.

[Bruce Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very early example of disaster journalism. The Penguin version has a lengthy introduction by Richard Hamblyn, who wrote a delightful book called The Invention of Clouds. I found the introduction much more readable than Defoe's text.
The listing of disasters with the falling chimneys and the flying oddities became a bit wearying and this reader at least was glad to finish. People fascinated by calamity and weather will love it, others, not so much.

[Lori]

I reviewed an edition that came with William Minto's 1879 Defoe biography. You can read it here. As Minto explains, The Storm is actually a work of fiction that was inspired by real events, not a journalistic account in the way we think of it.

[Aaron Schuschu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Account of a hurricane in late November of 1703 (early December according to the Gregorian calendar- apparently England still went off the Julian calendar sometimes at that point). Could have been half the length if it weren’t for inclusion of several firsthand accounts that could have been merely quoted or otherwise referred to.

[Richard Gombert · Rating 2 out of 5]

This might be interesting for someone studying storms and storm damage. Otherwise not so much.

[Literary Ames]

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42234

[Gr1972 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5

[Danny · Rating 1 out of 5]

A boring tale of conformity that so lacks style

[Avis Black]

A potentially good disaster book ruined by inept handling

[Ken Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

[25 Feb 2019] An interesting and informative read, but now obviously best used as a resource as the language is, of course, dated.

[James Winstanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An obvious classic, and one under appreciated by today's literary public.