The son of James and Mary Foe, Daniel Defoe was born in London, in September 1660. There is controversy regarding his birthdate. No definite date could be deterred based on various sources. It is very difficult to come to any conclusion, except that he was born between July and October, 1660. Daniel was born amidst much political upheaval. Religion and choice of faith were the biggest issues of the time. Daniel's childhood was colored by such memories like, London streets filled with opposite groups defending their thoughts and interests. His memory also include the Great Plague of 1665. Thousands died in London and surrounding areas. The Foe family was miraculously saved due to foresight of James Foe. He shifted his family at a safe place, with sufficient provision and descended in London streets only after the Plague had subsided. Little Daniel was not allowed to wander outdoor, though he could sun himself at the doorstep.
Next followed the calamity of fire. About a year later on September 2, 1666, early in the morning, a maid woke up Daniel informing him of the fire in the city. He was horrified at the sight from his window. The memories that remained with him rest of the life, said little, "how the despairing citizens looked on and saw the devastation of their buildings with a kind of stupidity." Within four days the fire destroyed almost half the London, leaving only the painful memories of its glorious past. The London that he loved and was covered by thick smoke and crying hearts.
Education
Daniel was a strong willed person, but so was his mother. Once, Daniel refused to eat in order to have his own way in doing something. Mrs Foe accepted the challenge and Daniel had to go through starvation. The foes were very affectionate parents to Daniel, constantly nourishing his inquisitiveness and curious nature. The intelligent, active and enquiring little boy always came up with his insatiable thirst for knowledge and information. Even in his early education, his parents played an important part, as he was not given any formal education till 1674.
His mother was partly credited for Daniel's interest in scriptures and their meanings and style. When the Papists were rumored to have seized all the Bibles, little Daniel was given the task of copying both Old and New Testaments entirely. He was suddenly introduced to a full-fledged world of Gods and Devils. His young mind was tormented with the thoughts of witches, demons and sorcerers. He suffered from nightmares and the knowledge haunted him all through his life.
Formal Education
James Foe was a Dissenter. Thirteen years old Daniel was not admitted to either Oxford or Cambridge Universities as he did not take an oath of loyalty to the Church of England. He was sent to the excellent academy at Newington Green, administrated by Reverend Charles Morton. From Charles Morton, Defoe learned a vast deal; and the standard of Morton’s teaching was almost parallel to that of any English University. Defoe’s literary style was based on Morton’s clarity, simplicity and ease in writing style. His destiny was almost decided as his father wanted him to enter the church. Alongwith his study in classics, he learnt Latin and Greek as well as Spanish, French, Dutch and Italian. This, in fact, helped him in his career as a pamphleteer and a writer.
Change Of Action
As the years passed he felt more and more uncomfortable with the idea of becoming a minister. His leaning towards becoming a word-smith disturbed his parents. But, respecting his decision, James Foe invited him to join his business. Daniel, however, could not function as a butcher all his life. The changing traits of the London city and its merchants allured Daniel at this decision making moment. Trade was his "beloved subject" as well as one of the abiding interests in life. His first apprenticeship was with an importer of wine, Mr Charles Lodwick. Within a short span, Daniel proved his worth. At the same time the young enthusiast used his capacity to take initiative and to lead. During this time he traveled to Spain, France and Portugal as an agent or a negotiator. These tours provided him with vast knowledge and experiences as well as intimate relations. As he dealt in many commodities as a merchant, he had enough opportunities to travel, which helped him in becoming an intelligent economic theorist.
Marriage
He established a business of his own in 1683. He started his firm dealing in export of drugs, perfumes and stockings. Meanwhile in 1684, Defoe married Mary Tuffley, daughter of a well-to-do merchant. She was 'bland, passionate and deeply religious'. They had eight children in due course of time - two sons and six daughters. She was not mentioned in Defoe’s writings. But she was a loyal, capable and devoted wife. They had eight children. Their marital life lasted 47 years ending with the sad demise of Defoe. She had generally been a single parent to her children as Defoe was travelling most of the time. He preferred to travel on horse, at his own speed, so that he could ponder over various subjects uninterrupted.
Though Defoe had chosen trade as his vocation, the intellectual within him was never satisfied with his mundane life. He wanted to acquire reputation and recognition. He wanted an existence above the deals and monotony of business. He longed for social status. He always used a horse to travel, a symbol of social status. He always blossomed in presence of an audience.
The Highs And Lows Of Life
Defoe had seen many ups-and-downs in his life. The market fluctuations affected Defoe's business and in those times Mary had to take help from her family and from her in-laws. He incurred a loss of £ 17,000. The main reason for his bankruptcy was the loss he incurred while insuring ships during the war with France. Within 10 years, however, he repaid all but £ 5000. Other reasons for his misfortune were his indulgence in rash speculations and projects, and his being less fastidious. He even characterized himself as one of those tradesmen who had "done things which their own principles condemned, which they are not ashamed to blush for." Misfortune dogged him continually.
He wrote of himself : "No man has tasted differing fortunes more,
And thirteen times I have been rich and poor."
Change Of Name
Defoe was climbing the social ladder. He was moving in the company of upper class politicians and aristocrats. He found his surname 'Foe' to be a bit mediocre. To make it sound more respectable and gentlemanly he put a prefix 'De' before it, making it "Defoe'. Though he had to continue his business with his old surname only. He changed it legally nine years later.
Fame (?)
What earned him his long desired fame because of his pamphlet and its effect on the contemporary political scenario. He was actively involved in politics and the politicians also used his oratory skills. He was assigned some unofficial duty to work the public opinion in favor of Scotland-England union. Though the details were never revealed, he was supposed to have helped the cause positively. The political disputes, in which Defoe was involved, were mainly between the Whigs and Tories. Whigs represented the "Low Churchmen", whereas Tories were the "High-Churchmen" or "highfliers".
Defoe also participated in the unsuccessful rebellion led by the Duke of Monmouth against the Roman Catholic King, King James II.
Pillioried
But all his affairs did not bring him fame. His 1703 pamphlet, The Shortest Way With The Dissenters lead him to pillar, a wooden-frame, with a space for hands and head, in which prisoners were placed for public ridicule. The foremost Dissenters, High Flyers made him pillioried. But people never turned up to throw rotten tomatoes, as was customary. They admired this True-Born Englishman too much to attempt such an action.
Owing to political offenses, he was imprisoned for sometime, and had to undergo further losses in 1713, as his bricks and tiles factory near Tilbury failed. Thereafter, he never actively engaged himself in trade. He continued with his word-trade, i.e. writing pamphlets.
The Novels
Robinson Crusoe his most popular novel was published on April 25, 1719. It was tremendously popular with the lower and lower middle class readers. His experiences of Newgate, while undergoing the imprisonment for a second time are reflected in Moll Flanders, a novel. This work established him as a social historian.
Later Years
He spent rest of his life mostly concentrating on writing. He also worked with a publisher named Mr Applebee, between 1720 to 1726, writing biographies of criminals. At the same time he worked on economic issues as well and wrote a travel book too. He was also associated with some newspapers.
Even the last years of his life were not free from legal controversies. He died under the burden of heavy debts, always hiding, now and then, from his creditors, on April 26, 1731, at his lodgings in Ropemaker’s Alley, Moorfields.
A paradoxical genius, Daniel Defoe lived an eventful life. Actively involved in the early 18th century English politics, Defoe played a vital role in the unification of Scotland and England. A successful businessman turned pamphleteer, Defoe was quite a popular personality of his times. He is the only person pilloried, who was later cherished as a national hero.
Traveling extensively, he widened his knowledge. His novels were based on the experiences he had as a prisoner and as a journalist. The surprising feature of his life was that though he was destined to be a Presbyterian minister, he took up trade, faced many ups-and-downs and finally became a writer, and became famous with novels like Moll Flanders and Robinson Crusoe.
1660 He was born in London.
1671 Studied at religious academies in preparation for a career in Presbyterian ministry.
1682 Established as a merchant in hosiery trade.
1684 Married Mary Tuffley.
1685 Brief involvement as a supporter of Monmouth’s rebellion. Dealt in wine, tobacco and general goods. Traveled extensively in France, Holland, Italy and Spain.
1688 Published a political tract – A letter to a Dissenter from his friend at the Hague.
1692 Became a bankrupt.
1697 Worked as an agent for William III in England and Scotland.
1701 The True-Born Englishman appeared.
1702 The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, an ironic tract, appeared.
1703 Arrested and put in pillory, for The Shortest Way.
1704 For 10 years, he produced a thrice-weekly newspaper, The Review.
1705 Became a government agent under Harley. Traveled widely in England and Scotland, and promoted the cause of Anglo–Scottish union.
1713 Twice arrested for debt and publishing ironically political pamphlets.
1719 Robinson Crusoe, his first novel, was successful.
1722 Moll Flanders. A Journal of the Plague Year were published.
1724 Roxana was published.
1725 Produced many pamphlets, biographies, fictions, homilies, or moralizing lectures, and political tracts.
April 26, 1731 Died at his lodgings in Ropemaker’s Alley, Moorefields.
The career of journalism sought by Defoe, set free the best and worst in him. He delighted in deception; writing bogus letters to the editor, along with bogus travelogues and bogus histories. He was a journalistic double agent, writing for both Whigs and Tories. Defoe’s professional life focused on the place of religion in personal and public life. His writings, from novels to marriage manuals, from occult studies to politics at large, stem from the viewpoint of a devout dissenter fighting for survival in an Anglican nation. The issue helped him produce his first bestseller, The True-Born Englishman (1700). It was a poem of high passion and sarcastic wit defending the reign of the Protestant King William III. It contains the memorable lines :
"Wherever God erects a house of prayer,
The Devil always builds a chapel there,
And ’t will be found upon examination,
The latter has the largest congregation."
Defoe’s paradoxical attitude for religious righteousness and literary deceit soon led to his undoing. In 1702, The Shortest Way with the Dissenters was published. The parody suggested that the best way to handle religious non-conformists, was to hang them. Initially the Tories welcomed the work, but when they came to know the underlying joke, they went for Defoe’s throat. He was imprisoned for his work. According to West, it was one of the greatest defining moments in his life, a near martyrdom that, "far from breaking Defoe’s spirit of, ….. gave him the courage, patience, and resolution he needed during the years ahead."
After he was released from prison, he started a weekly newspaper, The Review, and from 1704–1713, discussed every prevailing issue completely. He wrote many books including The Dyet of Poland (1705), The Consolidator : Or Memoir of Sundry Transactions in the World of the Moon (1705).
After trying various things, Defoe finally became the first novelist in 1719, publishing Robinson Crusoe. It was a hoax and it almost resembled an autobiography. Besides being an adventurous novel, it was about the religious conversion of a man who rebuilt Christendom, with a repentant heart. Robinson Crusoe was based on the story of William Selkrik, who went to sea in 1704, under William Dampier and was put ashore at his own request.
In 1720, he wrote many historical works, a guide book ‘A Tour Thro’ The Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–1727) in 3 volumes; The Great Law of Subordination Considered (1724), an examination of the treatment of servants and The Complete English Tradesman (1726). His works also included the theme of supernatural like, The Political History of the Devil (1726) and An Essay On The History And Reality of Apparitions (1727).
At the age of 62, he published Moll Flanders, A Journal of the Plague Year and Colonel Jack.
In Moll Flanders, the heroine was born in prison, where her mother was sentenced to death. As a child, Moll Flanders was brought up by a gentlewoman. Moll Flanders suffered from romantic disillusionment at a young age, seduced by a cynical male. As a result, she became a whore and a thief, but in the end, she gained the status of a gentlewoman.
Defoe thus wrote on political controversies, elements of the supernatural, historical works and so on. Robinson Crusoe was among the first to popularize the genre of novel enriching the literary world with a new form of writing.
• Actions receive their tincture from the times,
And as they change, are virtues made of crimes.
• Middle age is youth without levity,
and age without decay.
• Justice is always violent to the party offending, for every man is innocent in his own eyes.
• Self-destruction is the effect of cowardice, in the highest extreme.
• Wealth, however got, in England makes lords of mechanics, gentlemen of rakes;
Antiquity and birth are needless here;
’Tis impudence and money makes a peer.
• We never see the true state of our condition till it is illustrated to us by its contraries; nor know how to value what we enjoy, but by the want of it.
• Fear of danger is 10,000 times more terrifying than danger itself…and we find the burden of anxiety greater by much than the evil which we are anxious about.
