Daniel Defoe: businessman and romantic, showered with flowers in the pillory. Biography of Daniel Defoe briefly

The article briefly describes the biography of Daniel Defoe, a writer and journalist, the founder of the English novel. He became famous for his work about Robinson Crusoe.

Brief biography of Daniel Defoe: first steps

Defoe was born in 1660 near London. The boy was sent to study at a theological seminary, which brought him knowledge of classical literature and ancient languages. Further training took place at the Theological Academy. For some time, Defoe even wrote poetry on religious themes. Defoe had the prospect of becoming a priest. But already with early childhood he was more attracted to commercial activities.
After completing his studies, Defoe became one of the many merchants operating in England at that time. He opens his own production and makes numerous business trips to countries that are trading partners of England. Defoe spoke many European languages. Defoe's sea voyages lead to him being briefly captured by pirates. Defoe's adventurous activities repeated the fate of many commercial enterprises of that time. He ends up going broke as a result of a careless deal.
Defoe distinguished himself in another field. Active political activity brings him to the camp of the rebels against James II. He for a long time forced to hide from justice.
The future writer was also subjected to prosecution for his first attempts at literary activity. His pamphlets and satirical poems were sharply directed against existing social vices. Defoe ridiculed the noble aristocracy. Ultimately, it was his activities as a writer denouncing society that undermined his business reputation and caused bankruptcy. Defoe was imprisoned, from which he was rescued by his future patron, Minister R. Harley, who discerned great talent in the prisoner.

Biography of Defoe: journalistic activities

Defoe was employed in public service as an editor and author of political articles in the Review. Defoe's work in this area was very productive and brought him wide fame. He is considered the founder of political, economic and crime journalism. The newspapers of his time were engaged in a dry presentation of facts. Defoe writes interesting articles that people want to read. He publishes interviews in the newspaper with a wide variety of people, including convicted criminals.
Defoe is engaged in literary activities. His work deserves attention" General history pirates", containing absolutely reliable information.
Robinson Crusoe
While working as a journalist, Defoe writes a novel that made his name world famous. "Robinson Crusoe" became the embodiment of the then dominant idea of ​​​​the omnipotence of man and his complete subordination of the natural elements. The novel was based on a real incident with A. Selkir, who was landed on an uninhabited island and spent a long time on it. The fruitful activity of a person who finds himself on a desert island is full of unreal events and is subject to many accidents. But Defoe's merit lies in the fact that he showed the presence of limitless possibilities of the human mind. Even in the most difficult conditions, when there seems to be no way to avoid imminent death, his hero finds the strength to continue the fight for survival.
The fantastic nature of the novel did not at all affect its artistic value. Moreover, the detailed description of all of Robinson’s actions gave the novel greater veracity and was perceived by many people as the truth. All researchers of Defoe's work note the exceptional realism in the description of the most minor details, bordering on documentary presentation.
Defoe, inspired by success, wrote two more parts of Robinson's further adventures, but they enjoyed virtually no success and went unnoticed.
The writer created about 500 more different works. However, they are known only to a narrow circle of specialists in his work. For history, Defoe remains, first of all, the author of the adventures of Robinson Crusoe. This novel is read by children and adults all over the world.
The writer died in 1731 in England.

Biography and episodes of life Daniel Defoe. When born and died Daniel Defoe, memorable places and dates important events his life. Writer quotes, images and videos.

Years of life of Daniel Defoe:

born 1660, died April 24, 1731

Epitaph

Biography

Life famous writer and the great adventurer Daniel Defoe appears to contemporaries as a series of real mysteries. He is called the founder modern genre narrative and the father of economic journalism, suspected of international espionage and political intrigue in medieval England. Defoe's moral principles are regarded very ambiguously: he seemed to balance between two extremes, personifying Puritan piety and bourgeois power at the same time. But the unprecedented talent of Daniel Defoe is beyond doubt, because his main brainchild - the story of Robinson Crusoe - has become a cult novel of world significance. And, probably, there is hardly a person in the civilized world who has not heard about the adventures of a lonely sailor.

Daniel Defoe was born in London into a family of English Protestants. From childhood he prepared to become a pastor and received the appropriate spiritual education at one of the most elite academies in the capital. But contrary to the sentiments of his parents, the future writer chose a worldly life, and the most adventurous one at that. Daniel had barely turned twenty when he opened his own business, investing almost all his available money in it. In business, Defoe did not like to waste his time on trifles, preferring only large and truly risky transactions. Moreover, the writer was well versed in economics and politics, which helped him gain trust in high circles. And we are talking not so much about the bourgeoisie, but about the royal family itself. It is known that Defoe contributed in every possible way to the enthronement of King Guillaume of Orange, and during his reign, accordingly, he “played favorites.”

The last years of Defoe's life were spent in illness and loneliness. Sometimes the writer had to hide from creditors and deceived publishers, wandering around rented London apartments. When the writer died, even his relatives did not know about the fact of Defoe’s death. It is believed that the cause of Defoe's death was a lethargic attack. Defoe's funeral was organized by the owner of the house where Daniel was staying at that time. To cover burial costs, she had to sell off some of the writer’s personal belongings. Several mocking obituaries were devoted to the death of Daniel Defoe, and Defoe's grave in London's Bunhill Fields cemetery was covered with a simple tombstone, which was soon overgrown with grass and became invisible. And only more than a hundred years later, a granite monument to Defoe’s memory was opened at the writer’s burial site.

Life line

1660 Year of birth of Daniel Defoe.
1673 Admission to a non-conformist academy in London.
1683 Opening your own haberdashery store.
1684 Marriage to Mary Tuffley.
1685 Participation in the rebellion against King James II.
1692 Bankruptcy and temporary suspension of commercial activities.
1701 The publication of Defoe's first satirical poem. The beginning of a literary career.
1703 Prison sentence for impudent criticism of royal power.
1719 Publication the most famous novel Daniel Defoe - "Robinson Crusoe".
April 24, 1731 Date of death of Daniel Defoe.

Memorable places

1. Cripplegate area in London, where Daniel Defoe was born.
2. The area of ​​Stoke Newington in London, where Defoe studied at the seminary.
3. Westonsoyland, where the writer participated in famous battle at Sedgemoor.
4. Moorfields area in London, where Daniel Defoe died.
5. Bunhill Fields Cemetery in London, where Defoe is buried.
6. Monument to Robinson Crusoe - the main one literary hero Defoe - in Tobolsk.
7. Easter Island (Chile), where the monument to Robinson Crusoe is erected.

Episodes of life

The publication of the novel about Robinson Crusoe provided Defoe with authority in the literary world. Thus, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy himself translated the book into Russian. In the modern world, Daniel Defoe is recognized as one of the founders of the novel as a genre, and his hero, Robinson, is put on a par with Faust and Don Quixote.

For the pamphlet “The Shortest Way to Deal with Sectarians,” Defoe was sentenced to prison and pilloried. IN this work the writer reduced the arguments of the ruling church to virtually absurdity, for which, in fact, he was punished. Note that the “shameful punishment” was extremely offensive, since a person chained to a stake could be mocked in any way. But in Daniel's case, the opposite happened. The aristocracy, inspired by the hot satire, gathered at the pillar and showered the writer with flowers from head to toe.

Covenant

"It's never too late to wise up."

Film about Daniel Defoe from the Encyclopedia Project series

Condolences

“In the person of Daniel Defoe - a talented publicist, journalist, writer, pioneer of the novel of modern times - enlightenment in England at its early stage found one of its brightest representatives.”
Larisa Sidorchenko, writer

“Defoe gives Robinson his thoughts, putting educational views into his mouth. Robinson expresses ideas of religious tolerance, he is freedom-loving and humane, he hates wars, and condemns the cruelty of the extermination of natives living on lands captured by white colonialists. Finally, he is inspired by his work. Depicting the labor exploits of Robinson, Defoe expresses the unshakable faith in man, which was characteristic of the Enlightenment.
Elena Kornilova, writer

"No reading good books we cannot do without: they help our education, develop our minds and ennoble our soul and heart. There is one book that, in my opinion, is the best treatise on education... What kind of wonderful book is this? Ariosto, Pliny or Buffon? No, this is Robinson Crusoe!
Jean Jacques Rousseau, philosopher

Daniel Defoe born in London into the family of James Fo, a meat merchant and candle manufacturer. The writer subsequently changed his last name to Defoe.
The interests of the family in which Daniel grew up were trade and religion. Daniel's father was a Puritan and a dissident in his religious views. Loyalty to Calvinism and an irreconcilable attitude towards the dominant Anglican Church were for English merchants and artisans a unique form of protection of their bourgeois rights during the years of political reaction and the Stuart restoration (1660-1688).
Daniel's father, noticing his son's exceptional abilities, sent him to a dissident school that bore the name of the academy and trained priests for the persecuted Puritan church.
Defoe abandoned his future as a priest and took up trade. Throughout his life, Defoe remained a businessman. He was a hosiery manufacturer and trade intermediary in the export of fabrics from England and the import of wines. He subsequently became the owner of a tile factory. As a trade intermediary, he traveled extensively throughout Europe, spending a particularly long time in Spain and Portugal. A wide variety of commercial plans arose in Defoe's head; he started more and more new enterprises, got rich and went bankrupt again. At the same time, he took an active part in the political events of his era.
Defoe took whatever part he could in the so-called “glorious revolution” of 1688. He joined William's army when he landed on the English coast, and then, as part of a guard of honor put up by the richest merchants, was present at the king's triumphal procession.
In subsequent years, Defoe, together with the bourgeois Whig party, actively supported all the activities of William III of Orange. He issued a number of pamphlets in defense of him foreign policy and extensive military appropriations intended for the war with France. But his poetic pamphlet “Pureblood Englishman” (1701), directed against the noble-aristocratic party, was especially important. In the pamphlet, Defoe defends William III from his enemies, who shouted that the Dutchman should not rule “pure-blooded Englishmen.” The pamphlet had a strong anti-feudal overtones. Defoe denies the very concept of a “purebred Englishman,” since the English nation was formed as a result of the mixing of various nationalities, as a result of the conquest of the British Isles by the Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. But with the greatest harshness he attacks the English aristocrats who are proud of the “antiquity of their family.” Recent immigrants from the bourgeoisie, they acquired coats of arms and titles for money and, forgetting about their bourgeois origins, shout about noble honor, about noble dignity.
The writer calls on the English aristocrats to recognize the class compromise that has already been accomplished, forget about the imaginary honor of the nobility and finally follow the bourgeoisie. A person's dignity should henceforth be measured by his personal merits, and not by a brilliant title. Satirical attacks against the nobility ensured the pamphlet's success in the widest circles. reading circles. William III, pleased with the support of the talented pamphleteer, began to provide Defoe with constant patronage.
The death of William III in 1702 put an end to the hopes that Defoe had placed in this king. In his pamphlet “Feigned Mourners,” he indignantly attacked the Tory nobles who rejoiced at William’s death.
The reign of Queen Anne (daughter of James II) was marked by temporary political and religious reaction. Anna hated the Puritans and secretly dreamed of a complete restoration of the Stuarts. With her assistance, in 1710, a Tory coup took place in parliament. Even earlier, under her auspices, the brutal persecution of dissident Puritans began. Bishops and pastors, fanatics of the Church of England, openly called in their sermons for reprisals against dissidents.
Defoe felt somewhat alone in his own Puritan party, as he was outraged by manifestations of all kinds of religious fanaticism. But during these difficult years for the Puritans, he spoke out in their defense with unexpected fervor. The writer chose the path of parody for this and literary hoax and published in 1702 an anonymous brochure “The Shortest Way to Deal with Dissidents.” The pamphlet was written on behalf of the Representative of the Church of England, calling for the complete extermination of dissidents. In this pamphlet-parody, the anonymous author advised to destroy the English Puritans, as the Huguenots were once destroyed in France, proposed to replace penalties and fines with gallows, and in conclusion recommended “the crucification of these robbers who have crucified the hitherto holy Church of England.”
This hoax was so subtle, so reproducing the unbridled tone of pogrom sermons heard in churches, that both religious parties did not at first understand its true meaning. Some supporters of the Church of England declared their full solidarity with the author of the pamphlet. It was attributed to one of the bishops. The confusion and horror of the dissidents, who expected total extermination, was so great that Defoe was forced to release “An Explanation of the Shortest Way,” where he revealed his plan to ridicule the bloodthirsty churchmen. This explanation, like the pamphlet itself, was anonymous, but friends and enemies now guessed Defoe's authorship. True, the dissidents had not yet completely calmed down, they did not fully believe their defender, who acted under the guise of an enemy.
But the government and the Anglican clergy fully understood the meaning of the pamphlet and appreciated the danger that the indomitable pamphleteer posed to them. In January 1703, an order was given for the arrest of Defoe, "guilty of a crime of the utmost importance."
Dafoe fled and eluded the police. An advertisement appeared in the London Gazette for a government reward of £50 to anyone who would hand over Defoe, “a thin man of average height, about 40 years of age, dark, with dark brown hair, gray eyes, a hooked nose, and big mole near the mouth." Defoe was extradited and imprisoned in Newgate prison. The pamphlet was burned in the square by the executioner.
The sentence imposed on the writer was exceptionally harsh. He was sentenced to pay a heavy fine, stand in the pillory three times, and be imprisoned for an indefinite period until further order of the Queen. Defoe bravely accepted his punishment. While still in pretrial detention, he wrote “Hymn to the Pillory” (1703), in which he stated that he was proud of his fate. This hymn was spread by his friends, sold on the streets by boys, and was soon on everyone's lips. The appearance in the pillory turned into a real triumph for Defoe. A huge crowd greeted him enthusiastically, women threw flowers at him, and the pillory was decorated with garlands. However, this ended the heroic period in Defoe's life. He was released that same year, having secretly accepted the terms offered to him by Tory circles and, above all, by Robert Harley, later Prime Minister of the Tory government.
Subsequently, Defoe was no longer subject to political persecution.
Towards the end of his life he found himself alone. In a suburban outback, Defoe lived out his days. Your own children have long since flown away from the nest. The sons trade in the City, the daughters are married. And only the children of his imagination, the heroes of his books, did not abandon old man Defoe when fate dealt him a fatal blow. Sick and weak, she again forced him to leave his comfortable home, run, and hide. And as once upon a time, in days gone by, Defoe unexpectedly took refuge in the slums of London that were so familiar to him.
He died at the end of April 1731. The compassionate Miss Brox, the owner of the house where Defoe was hiding, buried him with her own money. Newspapers devoted short obituaries to him, mostly of a mocking nature, in the most flattering of which he was honored to be called “one of the greatest citizens of the Grub Street Republic,” that is, the London street where the then greyhound writers and rhymers lived. A white tombstone was placed on Defoe's grave. Over the years, it became overgrown, and it seemed that the memory of Daniel Defoe - a free citizen of the city of London - was covered with the grass of oblivion. More than a hundred years have passed. And time, whose judgment the writer so feared, retreated before his great creations. When Christian World magazine in 1870 appealed to “the boys and girls of England” with a request to send money to build a granite monument on Defoe’s grave (the old slab was split by lightning), thousands of admirers, including adults, responded to this call. In the presence of the descendants of the great writer, the opening of a granite monument took place, on which was carved: “In memory of the author of Robinson Crusoe.” And this is fair: of the three hundred works written by Daniel Defoe, it was this work that brought him true fame. His book is a mirror of the era, and the image of Robinson, in which the writer sang the courage of man, his energy and hard work, is the hero of the great epic of labor.

Defoe's writing activity was unusually varied. He wrote more than 250 works of various genres - from poetic and prose pamphlets to extensive novels. In addition to the above-mentioned political pamphlets and Essay on Projects, after 1703 he published a huge number of essays and articles of a wide variety of content. There were historical and ethnographic works in which exclusive attention was paid to the development of trade: “A General History of Trade, especially British Commerce” (1713), “A General History of Discoveries and Improvements, especially in the great branches of commerce, navigation and agriculture, in all parts light" (1725), "Travel around the entire island of Great Britain" (1727), "An impartial history of the life and deeds of Peter Alekseevich, the current Tsar of Muscovy" (1723). There were also instructive treatises that in every possible way promoted bourgeois enterprise (“The Model English Merchant”, 1727, etc.). At the same time, new projects by Defoe appeared in print, new attempts at research in the form of “Experiments” - “Defense of the Press, or an experiment on the usefulness of literature” (1718), “An experiment on literature, or a study on the antiquity and origin of writing” - and along with them witty topical pamphlets, sometimes in the form of parodies (“Instructions from Rome in favor of the applicant, addressed to the high-ranking Don Sacheverellio,” 1710, a pamphlet revealing the closeness of the Anglican Church with Catholicism).
Defoe deliberately gives a sensational character to some of his pamphlets and essays and provides them with spectacular, intriguing titles. In one pamphlet from 1713, he poses the question to the reader: “What if the queen dies?”, Another entitled: “What if the Swedes attack?” (1717). Defoe's closeness with the ruling circles, as well as the anonymity of his pamphlets, allowed Defoe to have a certain courage and freedom in posing such questions. The English man in the street, of course, greedily pounced on these brochures and sought help and advice in them during the years when the country was threatened new restoration Stuarts or the Swedish invasion.
The pursuit of literary earnings forced Defoe to create, along with serious works, tabloid “stories” about famous robbers and ghosts, accurate and detailed reports of absolutely fantastic events. He described in detail the terrifying hurricane that swept over England in 1703, being an eyewitness to it; but a few years later he gave an equally accurate and realistic description of a volcanic eruption that did not actually happen. In 1705, he wrote a fantastic account of a voyage to the moon, which was a satire on recent events in England, especially on the actions of the fanatics of the Church of England.
Defoe should be considered the founder of journalism in England; from 1705 to 1713 he published the newspaper Review of French Affairs. This masking title meant a review of all European politics and the internal affairs of England. Defoe published his newspaper alone, was its only employee and spent time in it, despite his secret connection with Harley, the old progressive principles, constantly offending churchmen and extreme Tories. The newspaper published extensive international reviews and commented on events in the internal political life of England. On the fourth page of the newspaper, entitled “Scandalous Mercury, or News of the Scandal Club,” there was a humorous section that was satirical and moralizing in nature. Here, mainly private vices were ridiculed, satirical images of grumpy or unfaithful wives, gullible and deceived husbands were depicted; but sometimes the injustice of bribed judges, the corruption of journalists, the fanaticism and ignorance of clergy were also exposed; readers learned in this case under fictitious names famous people in London, and this contributed to the popularity of the newspaper. Her sharply independent tone, frank attacks against reactionary circles, and the thoroughness of her political reviews won her wide readership. The newspaper was published twice a week and anticipated in many respects the magazines of Steele and Addison (Chatterbox and Spectator), published in 1709–1711. It took all of Defoe’s colossal efficiency and energy to run this newspaper alone for a number of years, transforming himself either into a serious columnist or into a witty pamphleteer.
Already an old man, enriched by vast experience in journalistic and historiographical work, Defoe began to create works of art. His famous novel “The Life and Strange Wonderful Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” (1719) was written by him in his 58th year. Soon the second and third parts of the novel appeared, and then a number of novels: “The Life and Adventures of the Famous Captain Singleton” (1720), “Memoirs of a Cavalier” (1720), “Notes of the Plague Year” (1721), “The Joys and Sorrows of the Famous Moll Flanders "(1721), "The History and Remarkable Life of the Honorable Colonel Jacques" (1722), "The Fortunate Mistress, or the History of the Life and Various Adventures... of the Person Known as Lady Roxanne" (1724), "The Notes of George Carleton" (1724 ).
All of Defoe's novels are written in the form of autobiography and memoirs of fictional persons. All of them are distinguished by simplicity and restraint of language, a desire for accurate descriptions, and an accurate transmission of the thoughts and feelings of the characters.
Defoe was a staunch supporter of simplicity and clarity of style. Each of his novels represents the story of the hero’s life and upbringing, starting from childhood or teenage years, and the upbringing of a person continues into his mature years. Various adventures and difficult trials shape the human personality, and in Defoe’s novels it is always an energetic and calculating person, who wins the blessings of life by all permitted and unlawful means. Defoe's heroes are most often rogues; their hoarding is accompanied by a number of unseemly actions (the exception is Robinson, Defoe's favorite and therefore positive hero). Captain Singleton is a pirate, Moll Flanders and “Colonel” Jacques are thieves, Roxanne is an adventurer and courtesan. At the same time, they all succeed in their own way. life path and enjoy the writer's well-known sympathy. The author, who knew the Spanish language well, uses the traditions of the Spanish picaresque novel with its motley change of adventures, the wanderings of a clever loner in an indifferent and cruel world. But the perception of life and the attitude towards one’s own heroes in Defoe’s novels is much more complex and deeper than in the picaresque novel. Some of Defoe's heroes are distinguished by their warmth and hard work (Moll Flanders), they are aware of their fall, but the cruel bourgeois environment disfigures them and turns them into immoral adventurers. Defoe perfectly understands and shows his readers that the blame for the moral decline of his heroes falls on society. The spring of personal and public life turns out to be egoism, as in Mandeville’s “The Fable of the Bees.” Like Hobbes, Defoe is inclined to consider this selfish struggle of individuals for material wealth as the eternal law of human existence.

Name: Daniel Defoe

Age: 70 years old

Place of Birth: London

A place of death: London

Activity: English writer

Family status: single

Daniel Defoe - biography

Contemporaries rarely called him a writer, more often a scoundrel, or, as another genius, Jonathan Swift, contemptuously said: “I have forgotten his name.”

Energetic, enterprising, courageous, with an ugly face, but expressive and strong. Of average height, thin, dark, with a hooked nose and a prominent (“mutton-like,” as his enemies wrote) chin. In addition, in the corner of his mouth there is a large birthmark(“like a squashed cockroach”).

The fate of Daniel Defoe, the author of the well-known “Robinson Crusoe” and not only him, was not smooth: “Thirteen times he became rich and poor again,” he wrote about himself. Large family, large debts, many enemies, dependence on patrons. And - life full of mysteries.

Childhood, family

Daniel Defoe was born around 1660 near London in the town of Cripplegate. His father, London butcher James Faw, was a descendant of Flemish Protestants who fled to England from the Spanish. He sent his son to a private Protestant seminary. But at the age of 19, the young man decided that his path was not preaching, but practical activity.

Daniel began working for a dry goods wholesaler. He did business in England, Spain, Portugal and France. Then he went to sea for the first time. Young Daniel suffered from seasickness, just like his Robinzin later: “My head was spinning, my legs were shaking, I felt nauseous, I almost fell. Every time the ship was attacked a big wave, it seemed to me that we would drown right away. Every time a ship fell from a high crest of a wave, I was sure that it would never rise again..."

On this journey, Daniel faced even worse danger: an Algerian privateer was pursuing his ship. And if not for the appearance of the coast guard vessel, the world would most likely have lost Defoe’s novels. But even after the sailors drove away the pirates, the danger did not pass. As soon as the authorities found a cargo of smuggled wine on board, Daniel, and the entire crew, would have paid for it. I had to roll out the barrel and give the saviors a drink.

Defoe's further fate was also connected with the wine trade - his father-in-law was engaged in it, with whose daughter, Mary Tafley, Daniel would live until his death and who would bear him 8 children. In the meantime, the marriage brought him a huge dowry of 3,700 pounds, which he invested in the business. It seemed that the merchant was going uphill. But here a secret appears in his biography.

Daniel Defoe and politics

This is hinted at by the history of his participation in the uprising of the Duke of Monmouth, who had designs on the throne. The authorities suppressed the protest and began brutal terror against those involved. Daniel was seen among the rebels - on horseback and with weapons. This was quite enough to send him to the gallows. But he was amnestied. Miracle! Or... he was already carrying out secret orders from the government.

In 1688, a coup did take place: the Dutch Prince William of Orange became king. And Daniel Defoe was again noticed in his army... According to the writer, he became one of the closest advisers to the new king. One could put forward the version that he was a double agent, working both for the deposed Jacob and for the House of Orange.

But soon a business disaster overtook him, making him suspect that they simply wanted to get rid of the overly knowledgeable person. Although, at first glance, the businessman simply went bankrupt: he started producing bricks, borrowing large sums, and creditors suddenly began to demand the money back. The result is bankruptcy. None of the influential patrons stood up for him. True, Defoe was not sent to debtor’s prison then. It’s already good - when he’s free, at least he won’t let his already large family die in poverty. But from that moment on, his life became even more mysterious.

Daniel Defoe - master of lies

London publisher John Dunton came up with a newspaper consisting of answers to readers' questions. "The Athenian Mercury" was popular in the most wide circles. The questions were relevant, for example: “Can the queen be called “mada”?”, “Will black people rise from the dead on the Day of Judgment?” While working there, Defoe invented a method that he himself called “plausible lies.” He paid close attention to the text small details creating flawlessly realistic picture. But how much truth there is in his journalism and prose is difficult to establish.

He also founded the genres of economic, criminal and political journalism. And he was the first to do real interviews. However, only God knows how genuine they were. It was rumored that Defoe came to interviewees with the text already written and convinced them to confirm the authenticity of their words. He's done more questionable things. For example, under various pseudonyms, he wrote articles for and against the king, Whigs, Tories, Catholics, Anglicans, Puritans and even... himself.

Defoe's two satirical pamphlets in verse "The Pure-Born Englishman" and " The simplest way deal with dissidents” - they blew up society. The first debunked the myth of the purity of English blood. The second pretended to denounce the Puritans, but in fact ridiculed their opponents. Everyone read these pamphlets. But then Defoe’s patron, King William III, died completely inopportunely, and the daring pamphleteer was left without protection. He went into hiding, was caught and sentenced to prison, a large fine and a pillory.

They were allowed to throw anything at the convicts, and sometimes they were beaten to death. However, not only stones and dirt flew at Defoe, but also... flowers. There were many of his admirers among the townspeople.

Robert Harley, the future Secretary of State and Lord Treasurer, rescued him. For this, the writer became an information weapon of the authorities. With their money, he began publishing the Review newspaper, continuing what he did in the Athenian Mercury: asking questions on behalf of readers, and himself writing lengthy answers to them. Covertly forming the public opinion desired by the authorities.

However, the Secretary of State gave him more dangerous assignments. There is a letter written by Defoe to Harley from prison. This is a detailed memorandum on the organization of intelligence and counterintelligence services. But Defoe was not only a theoretician when it came to espionage. One of his famous missions was a trip to Scotland.

He had to prepare the ground for its final unification with England. Defoe traveled all over the country under the guise of a merchant, fisherman, priest, scientist, and used operational pseudonyms. He completed the task brilliantly. There were also missions on the continent. “During my inspection trips outside England, I deeply inhale the aroma of espionage,” he wrote. He seemed to like it...

Daniel Defoe - books

But when did Defoe manage to write so fruitfully?.. Biographers compare the time he spent traveling and the volume of writing at the same time and refuse to believe that it was done by one person. But it was then that his most outstanding works, including Robinson Crusoe. In total, Defoe wrote more than 500 books, magazines and pamphlets on a variety of topics.

Daniel Defoe was in prison several more times and was never able to fully pay off his debts. By the age of 60, he retired from espionage affairs. He continued to hide from creditors, and perhaps from more formidable enemies...

The last year of his life was terrible. Constant threats and persecution finished off the old man - he lost his mind. He left home, gave himself a false name, and often moved from place to place, trying to cover his tracks. It was not until 1731 that Defoe returned to London. He settled in the most remote area of ​​the city, where he soon died alone. Even his relatives did not know about his death - the landlady took care of the funeral.

Daniel Defoe (birth name Daniel Faw) - English writer and publicist - born around 1660 in the Cripplegate area of ​​London, in the family of Presbyterian meat merchant James Faw (1630-1712), received ecclesiastical education and prepared to become a pastor, but abandoned a church career. He was engaged in commercial activities. In 1681 began to write poetry on religious themes.

Took part in the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion against James II Stuart and the Battle of Sedgemoor 6 July 1685, lost by the rebels.

After graduating from Newington Academy, where he studied Greek and Latin languages And classic literature, became a clerk at a wholesale hosiery merchant. On trade matters he often visited Spain, Portugal and France, where he became acquainted with the life of Europe and improved his languages.

Subsequently, he himself was at one time the owner of a hosiery production and then first the manager and then the owner of a large brick and tile factory, but he went bankrupt. Defoe had the spirit of an entrepreneur-businessman with an adventurous streak - a type common in that era. He was also one of the most active politicians of his time. A talented publicist, pamphleteer and publisher, he, without officially holding any government position, at one time exercised great influence on the king and the government.

In 1697 wrote his first literary work, “Essays on Projects.” In 1701 wrote satirical work"The True-Born Englishman", satirizing xenophobia. For the pamphlet " Shortest way reprisals against dissenters" (“Shortest Way with the Dissenters”) in 1703 was sentenced to pillory and imprisonment. While in prison, Defoe continued literary activity, writing "Hymn to the Pillory". That same year, he was released on the condition that he would carry out secret orders for the government, that is, he would become a spy.

At the age of 59, in 1719, Daniel Defoe published the first and best novel of his entire creative life- “The life and amazing adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a sailor from York, who lived twenty-eight years in all alone on an uninhabited island off the coast of America near the mouth of the Orinoco River, where he was thrown into a shipwreck, during which the entire crew of the ship except him died; with an account of his unexpected liberation by the pirates, written by himself." We know this work as “Robinson Crusoe”.

The idea of ​​the novel was suggested to the writer by a real incident: in 1704, a Scottish sailor, Alexander Selkirk, after a quarrel with the captain, landed on an unfamiliar shore with a small supply of provisions and weapons. For more than four years he led a hermit's life, as it turned out, on the island of Juan Fernandez in Pacific Ocean, until he was taken to a ship commanded by Woods Rogers.

Defoe conveys an educational concept of history through the novel. Thus, from barbarism (hunting and gathering) Robinson on the island moves to civilization (agriculture, cattle breeding, crafts, slaveholding).

In the continuation of the novel about Robinson Crusoe, Defoe described his adventures in Great Tartary and the states located on its lands - Chinese and Russian Empire, as well as the life and customs of the peoples inhabiting it - the Chinese, Tatars and Russian (Siberian) Cossacks.

Defoe wrote more than 500 books, pamphlets and magazines on various topics (politics, economics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology, the supernatural, etc.). He was also the founder of economic journalism. In his journalism he promoted bourgeois sanity and defended religious tolerance and freedom of speech.

Works of Daniel Defoe:

"Robinson Crusoe" - 1719.
“The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” – 1719.
"The Life and Pirate Adventures of the Glorious Captain Singleton" - 1720.
“Memoirs of a Cavalier” (Memoirs of a Cavalier) – 1720 .
A Journal of the Plague Year – 1722 .
"The Joys and Sorrows of the Famous Moll Flanders" - 1722 .
“The Happy Courtesan, or Roxana” (Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress) – 1724 .
"The King of Pirates"
"The Story of Colonel Jack"
"A True Relation of the Apparition of One Mrs. Veal The Next day after Her Death to One Mrs. Bargrave at Canterbury The 8th of September 1705) – 1706.
"The Consolidator or, Memoirs of Sundry Transactions from the World in the Moon" (Consolidator, or memories of an incoming transaction from the light of the Moon) – 1705 .
“Atlantis Major” (Main Atlantis) – 1711 .
"A Tour Thro" The Whole Island of Great Britain, Divided into Circuits or Journies" - 1724–1727 .
"The Family Instructor" (Family of the Instructor).
"The Pirate Gow" - 1724 .
"The Storm"
"A New Voyage round the World" trip around the world) – 1725.
“The Political History of the Devil” – 1726 .
"System of Magic" – 1726 .
"The History Of The Remarkable Life of John Sheppard" wonderful life John Sheppard) - 1724 .
"A Narrative Of All The Robberies, Escapes, &c. of John Sheppard" (The Narrative of All Robberies, Escapes) – 1724 .
"The Pirate Gow" - 1725 .
“A Friendly Epistle by way of reproof from one of the people called Quakers, to T. B., a dealer in many words” - 1715 .
"Conjugal Lewdness"
"Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe" - 1720 .
"The Complete English Tradesman"
"An Essay Upon Projects"
“An Essay Upon Literature” (Essay on Literature) – 1726.
"Mere Nature Delineated" - 1726.
"A Plan of English Commerce" - 1728 .
“Essay on the Reality of Apparitions” – 1727 .
“The True-Born Englishman” – 1701 .
“Hymn to the Pillory” – 1703 .
Moubray House (Mowbray House).