Defoe was not a scholar, he was a Dissenter. He dreamed of making it big as general merchant and he managed to fulfill his ambitions; he got himself a country estate, a ship and civet cats that are very expensive. Despite his financial success, he ended up in debt. To resolve his financial troubles, he began to write. He became well-known as a pamphleteer and his talent was well utilized for internal spying between the two major political parties of Britain.
As a pamphleteer, he first supported the Dissenters, and was duly punished for his ideas. For three days he endured the humiliation of the pillory, before being sent to prison. He spent some months in the lock up, and was only released when he agreed to denounce the support he had extended to the Whigs, and in return he was appointed as spy by the government. Henceforth, he supported whichever party was in power at different times. His talent for pamphleteering stood him in good stead and he utilized it for the financial benefit he could gain from the position. He was assisted in setting up the publication of his journal ‘The Review’ and was able to make a name for himself as a writer.
Later, he turned to prose fiction, which had become a highly regarded literary form and paid well. In other words, his adoption of writing prose fiction was not for the sake of art but rather for the financial benefit he could gain from this new acceptable literary art form that fascinated society.
Daniel Defoe, it is claimed, wrote more than 500 published pieces. However, scholars do dispute the claim and are trying to support their claim, but we have yet to see concrete evidence. Defoe wrote a lot; his topics range from politics to crime; he opines on serious issues like religion and marriage; and provides works in psychology and the supernatural. Mostly, he is the acknowledged pioneer of economic journalism.
Defoe’s novels have gained him wide acclaim. His most popular novel is undoubtedly ‘Robinson Crusoe’ Today the novel is placed on the list of ‘must reads’ because it is now a classic. The themes expressed in the novel have been widely interpreted as being an allegorical rendition to the development of civilization. Also, it is placed amongst the classics that describe European imperialistic tendencies based on economic greed and desire. Most of all, it has a religious theme running through it because it describes the true nature and value of repentance. Robert Louis Stevenson and others are ready to declare it the first novel and Stevenson has also praised ‘the footprint scene’ as having high impact on the senses and sensibilities. Others who read the scene have done much with it, including using is as a starting point for forensic podiatry. Daniel Defoe wrote sequels to his Crusoe novel, but the first one remains ever popular and eagerly read. He wrote a number of other novels too and therefore earned himself the title of ‘novelist’ in the literary hall of fame.
However, later in life he turned to including ‘conduct manuals’, also known as treatises, in his writings. He was rather disappointed with the breakdown of the social system and tried to instill moral and ethical instruction through his work. Some of his conduct manuals include Religious Courtship and The New Family Instructor. In addition, his famous work A tour thro’ the whole island of Great Britain, is a remarkable description of trade in Britain during the exciting years of the Industrial Revolution, that forever changed the world. He has also written about the supernatural, but the works mentioned here are the stupendous ones that make Defoe a true genius.
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