The Life of Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe was an author to some two hundred and fifty separate books and pamphlets, very few of them under his own name. Probably two men could not be found who would read through the vast mass of contemporary anonymous and pseudonymous print, and agree upon a complete list of Defoe's writings. Fortunately, however, for those who wish to get a clear idea of his life and character, the identification is not pure guess-work on internal evidence. He put his own name or initials to some of his productions, and treated the authorship of others as open secrets. Enough is ascertained as his to provide us with the means for a complete understanding of his opinions and his conduct. For the following sketch, I have endeavoured to connect Defoe and his work with the history of the time.