The Life of Daniel Defoe: A Critical Biography

The Life of Daniel Defoe examines the entire range of Defoe’s writing in the context of what is known about his life and opinions. The book provides a commentary on most of his voluminous political, religious, moral, and economic journalism, as well as on all of his narrative fictions. All these works are situated in the precise historical circumstances of the eighteenth century in which Defoe was an important and active participant. The biography focuses on Defoe’s life and mind as it appears in his writing, and emphasises his distinctive style and rhetoric.

Preface. Acknowledgments. 1. Dissenter, Merchant, Speculator, Writer. 2. Early Writings 1697–1703: Projects, Dissent, Poems. 3. Political Journalism. 4. Politics and Journalism: Queen Anne to the Hanoverians. 5. Moral, Social, and Economic Writings 1714–31. 6. Robinson Crusoe. 7. Travel, Politics, and Adventure. 8. Crime and Narrative. 9. Roxana : A Novel of Crime and Punishment. 10. History, Facts, and Literature. 11. Political Journalist and Moral Censor: 1715–31. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

John Richetti is A.M. Rosenthal Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania. He has written extensively on the eighteenth–century English novel and eighteenth–century philosophical prose, including The English Novel in History: 1700–1780 (1999), Philosophical Writing: Locke, Berkeley, Hume (1983), and Defoe’s Narratives (1975). He has edited Robinson Crusoe , among other titles.

“Richetti reminds us why so many of Defoe’s works are still worth reading … [ The Life of Daniel Defoe ] is a welcome addition to the family of biographies trying to render three–dimensional the man behind so many voices.” Studies In English Literature 1500–1900 <!––end––> "Richetti does a remarkable job." 18th–Century Studies "Richetti′s contributions to the study of 18th century fiction have established him among the foremost critics…he has been brilliant in his treatment of Defoe." 1650–1850 Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era "Richetti conscientiously explains the political controversies that possessed Defoe … When he reaches his chapters on Defoe’s novels you get the eloquent condensation of his expertise." London Review of Books “[Richetti] brings us closer than any previous biographer to the personality that ‘must have been lurking somewhere behind the various voices that he projected’ over forty years of writing. This is an urbane, well informed, and interesting account, not only of Defoe but of the entire Defoe enterprise.” Scriblerian