Life of Daniel Defoe

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 "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

• Preface vi Acknowledgments x1 Dissenter, Merchant, Speculator,Writer 12 Early Writings 1697–1703: Projects, Dissent, Poems 313 Political Journalism: 1697–1710 704 Political Agent and Journalist: Queen Anne to the Hanoverians 1135 Moral, Social, and Economic Writings 1714–31 1436 Robinson Crusoe 1747 Travel, Politics, and Adventure 2138 Crime and Narrative 2349 Roxana: A Novel of Crime and Punishment 26810 History, Facts, and Literature 30111 Political Journalist and Moral Censor: 1715–31 337Notes 362Bibliography 390Index 395