From London to Land's End

by Daniel Defoe

This letter will divide the weighty task, and consequently make it sit lighter on the memory, be pleasanter to the reader, and make my progress the more regular: I shall therefore take in Hampton Court and Windsor in this journey; the first at my setting out, and the last at my return, and the rest as their situation demands.

Genres: Geography, History, Travel

102 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2001

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

[Autumn Lord · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great look into southern England during the early 1700s. I want to go back through the places he visited and see the changes that have happened during the space of 300 or so years.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming from the area that Defoe writes about, it was like reading a charming history of the place I grew up in.

A snapshot of a bye gone era wonderfully written.

[Lucy]

One has to keep remembering when this was written - it's surprisingly modern compared with, say, Pepys' diary, written 0nly 60 years earlier. I found the details about fishing really interesting, but some of it does drag a little. He didn't have a very high opinion of Beau Nash and the Bath scene...