by Daniel Defoe
Mayer, Robert, ‘The Reception of A Journal of the Plague Year and the Nexus of Fiction and History in the Novel’, ELH 57 (1990), 529–56.
Moore, Benjamin, ‘Governing Discourses: Problems of Narrative Authority in A Journal of the Plague Year’, Eighteenth Century: Theory and Interpretation, 33 (1992), 133–47.
Novak, Maximilian E., ‘Defoe and the Disordered City’, PMLA 92 (1977), 421–52.
Schonhorn, Manuel, ‘Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year: Topography and Intention’, Review of English Studies, 19 (1968), 387–402.
Wall, Cynthia, ‘Novel Streets: The Rebuilding of London and Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year’, Studies in the Novel, 30 (1998), 164–77.
Zimmerman, Everett, ‘H.F.’s Meditations: A Journal of the Plague Year’, PMLA 87 (1972), 417–23.
Modern Studies of Plague
Defoe’s likely medical sources are listed in the Explanatory Notes. The best modern studies of plague as a medical and sociological phenomenon are:
Champion, J. A. I., London’s Dreaded Visitation: The Social Geography of the Great Plague in 1665 (London, 1995).
Karlen, Arlo, Plague’s Progress. A Social History of Man and Disease (London, 2000).
McNeill, William H., Plagues and Peoples (London, 1976).
Mack, Arien, ed., In Time of Plague: The History and Social Consequences of Lethal Epidemic Disease (New York, 1991).
Morris, Christopher, ‘The Plague in Britain’, Historical Journal, 14 (1971), 205–15.
Scott, Susan, and Duncan, Christopher, Biology of Plagues: Evidence from Historical Populations (Cambridge, 2001).
Slack, Paul, ‘The Disappearance of Plague: An Alternative View’, Economic History Review, 2nd ser., 34 (1981), 469–76.
—— The Impact of Plague in Tudor and Stuart England (London, 1985).
Ziegler, Philip, The Black Death (London, 1969).
Further Reading in Oxford World’s Classics
Defoe, Daniel, Moll Flanders, ed. G. A. Starr.
—— Robinson Crusoe, ed. Thomas Keymer.
—— Roxana, ed. John Mullan.
A CHRONOLOGY OF DANIEL DEFOE
Life and works
Historical events
1660
Autumn: Daniel Defoe, son of James Foe, a prosperous tallow chandler, born in St Giles, Cripplegate.
Restoration of the Stuart monarchy with the arrival and coronation of Charles II in London.
1662
Samuel Annesley ejected from his living at St Giles, Cripplegate. The Foes follow him out of the Anglican church, becoming Nonconformists or Dissenters.
Act of Uniformity requires the use of all rites and ceremonies from the Book of Common Prayer in Anglican services.
1665
The Foes probably leave London during the outbreak of plague.
Start of the second Anglo-Dutch War. Plague in London kills 68,000.
1668
Defoe’s mother, Ann Foe, dies some time between 1668 and 1671.
England, Sweden, and the United Provinces form the Triple Alliance against France.
1670
Charles agrees Treaty of Dover with Louis XIV, promising to restore England to Catholicism in return for subsidies.
1672
Defoe probably attends boarding school of James Fisher, an Independent clergyman, in Dorking, Surrey, at about this time.
Charles II issues Declaration of Indulgence, permitting licensed worship by Dissenters.
1673
First Test Act excludes Catholics and Dissenters from public office.
1674
Defoe enters Charles Morton’s academy in Newington Green, where he trains for the Presbyterian ministry.
Parliament proposes to place new limitations on future Catholic rulers. Third Anglo-Dutch War ends with the Treaty of Westminster.
1678
Onset of the Exclusion Crisis: allegations of a Jesuit plot to kill Charles II and replace him with his Catholic brother, James, precipitate sustained attempts to exclude James from the succession.
1681
Defoe decides against the ministry and becomes a wholesale hosier.
Parliament passes second Exclusion Bill against James.
1683
Defoe established as a hosier, living in Cornhill.
Rye House Plot to assassinate Charles II.
1684
Defoe marries Mary Tuffley, with a dowry of £3,700; the marriage produces six daughters and two sons.
Pope Innocent XI forms a Holy League to evict the Turks from Europe.
1685
Defoe is among the Monmouth rebels routed at the Battle of Sedgemoor in Somerset, but escapes the subsequent ‘Bloody Assizes’.
Accession of James II. Rebellion raised by James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, bastard son of Charles II, defeated at Sedgemoor. Louis XIV revokes Edict of Nantes, ending toleration for Protestants in France.
1687
Defoe becomes a liveryman of the Butchers’ Company. His name appears in the General Pardon issued for Monmouth rebels.
James II issues his first Declaration of Indulgence, suspending laws against Catholics and Dissenters.
1688
Defoe publishes his first pamphlet, A Letter to a Dissenter from His Friend at the Hague, alleging the insincerity of James II’s offer of religious toleration.
Second Declaration of Indulgence. William of Orange lands at Torbay, precipitating ‘Glorious Revolution’ and flight of James to France. England joins War of the League of Augsburg against France.
1689
Defoe joins a ‘Royal Regiment of Volunteer Horse’, led by Monmouth’s son, in parade honouring William III at the Lord Mayor’s Show.
Parliament offers crown to William and passes Bill of Rights, limiting power of the monarchy. James II lands in Ireland. Toleration Act grants Dissenters rights of religious assembly, but not civil equality.
1690
Throughout this period, Defoe invests in shipping and an import/export business trading in tobacco, timber, wines and spirits, and hosiery.
James II decisively defeated by William III at the Battle of the Boyne, near Drogheda, Ireland.
1692
Defoe goes bankrupt for £17,000, and is committed to the Fleet and later the King’s Bench Prison.
Massacre at Glencoe against the MacDonald clan, who had delayed pledging allegiance to William III.
1694
Establishes brick and tile factory at Tilbury, Essex. House of Lords rejects Bill to relieve named merchants (including Defoe) of part of their outstanding debt.
William makes a succession of political appointments, creating ‘Whig Junto’. Bank of England established.
1695
Defoe becomes an accountant to the commissioners of the window tax. He now styles himself ‘De Foe’.
Window tax imposed in England. Licensing Act lapses, suspending formal censorship of the press.
1697
Defoe publishes first major work, An Essay upon Projects.
Treaty of Ryswick ends War of the League of Augsburg. Louis XIV recognizes William III as king of England.
1698
Lex Talionis; or, An Enquiry into the most Proper Ways to Prevent the Persecution of the Protestants in France.
Launch of Darien scheme, an unsuccessful attempt by Scotland to establish a colony on the isthmus of Panama.
1701
Defoe becomes a household name with publication of The True-Born Englishman, a verse satire defending William III.
James II dies in exile. Louis XIV declares his grandson king of Spain, invades the Spanish Netherlands, and recognizes James II’s son as James III.
1702
The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, a satire on the extremism of High Church Tories such as the preacher Henry Sacheverell, leads to issue of a warrant for Defoe’s arrest.
Death of William III and accession of Queen Anne. Outbreak of War of Spanish Succession, fought by a European coalition,
including England, to prevent the Bourbon dynasty inheriting the Spanish throne.
1703
Defoe imprisoned and pilloried for his authorship of The Shortest Way, released after intervention by Robert Harley, Speaker of the House of Commons and Secretary of State, but now financially ruined.
Southern England battered by the great storm of 26–7 November.
1704
Harley recruits Defoe as a political agent. Defoe publishes The Storm and launches the Review, a periodical on politics, trade, and religion (1704–13).
Whigs secure electoral victories, bringing the Whig Junto to power. British Forces capture Gibraltar and defeat the French at the Battle of Blenheim.
1706
Defoe publishes Jure Divino, a verse satire on arbitrary rule. Second bankruptcy. Sent to Scotland to advance the interests of political union with England, and publishes vigorously in this cause until 1710.
English, Dutch, and German troops defeat the French at the Battle of Ramillies. French fleet destroyed in Toulon.
1707
Defoe is closely involved in political manoeuvres and negotiations leading to the Union.
Act of Union between England and Scotland creates the unitary state of Great Britain.
1708
Defoe reports to London on elections in Scotland, and serves the new ministry under Sidney Godolphin until 1710.
Attempted Jacobite landing at the Firth of Forth. General election brings in a moderate Whig and Tory administration.
1709
Publishes The History of the Union of Great Britain.
Copyright Act establishes limited protection of literary property.
1710
Defoe returns to Scotland to calm fears over High Church Tory extremism in England. He serves Robert Harley’s ministry 1710–14.
Impeachment trial of Sacheverell. Whigs lose their majority in parliament. Harley becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer and starts secret peace talks with France.
1711
Defoe makes his final visit to Scotland. Publishes An Essay on the History of Parties, reviewing past legislation against Dissenters and attacking the Bill against Occasional Conformity.
South Sea Company established. Occasional Conformity Act prevents Dissenters and Catholics from taking occasional Anglican communion to qualify for public office.
1713
Defoe suffers further arrests for debt and, following publication of Reasons against the Succession of the House of Hanover and two other ironic tracts, seditious libel; successfully petitions Queen Anne for pardon.
Treaty of Utrecht ends War of the Spanish Succession. Britain secures the Asiento, the monopoly on trading slaves to Spanish America. General election results in a massive Tory victory.
1714
Defoe writes in defence of his patron Harley, against charges of high treason.
Schism Act requires all teachers to conform to Church of England. Death of Anne and accession of George I, inaugurating Whig political supremacy until 1760.
1715
Defoe’s career as a hired party writer drawing to a close. Publishes volume i of The Family Instructor, his first conduct manual, and a partly autobiographical text, An Appeal to Honour and Justice.
Major Jacobite rebellion in Scotland. With Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke, Robert Harley is impeached for treason. Bolingbroke flees to France.
1716
Defoe edits Mercurius Politicus (1716–20), a moderate Tory monthly journal.
Upsurge in piracy on the eastern seaboard of North America at about this time.
1717
Defoe writes for Nathaniel Mist’s Tory Weekly Journal (1717–19).
Failure of the impeachment trial against Harley.
1718
Publishes A Continuation of Letters Written by a Turkish Spy at Paris and volume ii of The Family Instructor.
Austria, Britain, France, and the United Provinces launch War of the Quadruple Alliance (to 1720) to halt Spain’s territorial ambitions in Italy.
1719
Defoe founds Whig journal the Manufacturer, which runs from January to September. Publishes Robinson Crusoe (April) and The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (August).
Scheme for colonizing the mouth of the Orinoco is published in Mist’s Weekly Journal. British troops defeat a Jacobite force at Glen Shiel. Occasional Conformity and Schism Acts repealed.
1720
Defoe pursues his career as novelist with Memoirs of a Cavalier, Captain Singleton, Serious Reflections … of Robinson Crusoe; 18–22 August: The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.
South Sea Bubble provokes stock market collapse and financial scandal. Quarantine to stop spread of plague from Marseilles, where 40,000–60,000 die.
1721–2
Defoe is now earning an estimated £1,000 or more per annum from his activities with various political journals.
Atterbury Plot, a Jacobite conspiracy involving Francis Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester.
1722
Defoe leases several hundred acre near Colchester, Essex. Publishes Moll Flanders, Religious Courtship, A Journal of the Plague Year, Colonel Jack.
Robert Walpole becomes de facto Prime Minister, using revelation of the Atterbury Plot to discredit the Tories and consolidate his grip on power.
1723
Defoe starts an abortive plan to establish a tile works.
Bolingbroke returns from exile. Waltham Black Act adds fifty capital offences to penal code.
1724
Defoe publishes Roxana, A New Voyage round the World, and volume i of A Tour thro’ the Whole Island of Great Britain (volume ii, 1725; volume iii, 1726).
Thomas Longman purchases the stock and household goods of William Taylor, publisher of Robinson Crusoe, for £2,282 9s. 6d.
1725
Defoe undergoes a successful operation to remove bladder stones. Publishes volume i of The Complete English Tradesman (volume ii, 1727).
Treaty of Vienna: Austria pledges to assist Spain in recovering Gibraltar from Britain. League of Hanover: Britain, France, and Holland form alliance against Spain.
1727
A General History of the Principal Discoveries and Improvements in Useful Arts (published in four parts); The Political History of the Devil (two parts).
Accession of George II. War breaks out against Spain.
1728
Defoe is engaged in legal rows over his Colchester property, now heavily mortgaged and unprofitable. 21–3 March: A Plan of English Commerce.
Truce between England and Spain. Penal codes against Irish Catholics, commencing in 1695, culminate in a law withdrawing voting rights.
1729
Defoe commences The Complete English Gentleman (posthumously published in 1890).
Treaty of Seville formalizes peace between England and Spain.
1731
24 April: Defoe dies of a stroke in Rope Makers’ Alley close to his birthplace, hiding from creditors.
Captain Robert Jenkins, a British seaman, is captured off Cuba and mistreated by the Spanish authorities, leading to War of Jenkins’ Ear in 1739.
Title page of the first edition, 1722
IT was about the Beginning of September 1664, that I, among the Rest of my Neighbours, heard in ordinary Discourse, that the Plague was return’d again in Holland;* for it had been very violent there, and particularly at Amsterdam and Roterdam, in the Year 1663, whither they say, it was brought, some said from Italy, others from the Levant among some Goods, which were brought home by their Turkey Fleet; others said it was brought from Candia;* others from Cyprus. It matter’d not, from whence it come;* but all agreed, it was come into Holland again.
We had no such thing as printed News Papers* in those Days, to spread Rumours and Reports of Things; and to improve them by the Invention of Men, as I have liv’d to see practis’d since. But such things as these were gather’d from the Letters of Merchants, and others, who corresponded abroad, and from them was han
ded about by Word of Mouth only; so that things did not spread instantly over the whole Nation, as they do now. But it seems that the Government had a true Account of it, and several Counsels were held about Ways to prevent its coming over; but all was kept very private. Hence it was, that this Rumour died off again, and People began to forget it, as a thing we were very little concern’d in, and that we hoped was not true; till the latter End of November, or the Beginning of December 1664, when two Men, said to be French-men, died of the Plague in Long Acre, or rather at the upper End of Drury-Lane. The Family they were in, endeavour’d to conceal it as much as possible; but as it had gotten some Vent in the Discourse of the Neighbourhood, the Secretaries of State got Knowledge of it. And concerning themselves to inquire about it, in order to be certain of the Truth, two Physicians and a Surgeon were order’d to go to the House, and make Inspection. This they did; and finding evident Tokens* of the Sickness upon both the Bodies that were dead, they gave their Opinions publickly, that they died of the Plague: Whereupon it was given in to the Parish Clerk, and he also return’d them to the Hall;* and it was printed in the weekly Bill of Mortality* in the usual manner, thus,
Plague 2. Parishes infected 1
The People shew’d a great Concern at this, and began to be allarm’d all over the Town, and the more, because in the last Week in December 1664, another Man died in the same House, and of the same Distemper: And then we were easy again for about six Weeks, when none having died with any Marks of Infection, it was said, the Distemper was gone; but after that, I think it was about the 12th of February, another died in another House, but in the same Parish, and in the same manner.
