Publisher's Synopsis
A Journal of the Plague Year is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in March 1722. This novel is an account of one man's experiences of the year 1665, in which the Great Plague or the bubonic plague struck the city of London. The book is told somewhat chronologically, though without sections or chapter headings. Presented as an eyewitness account of the events at the time, it was written in the years just prior to the book's first publication in March 1722. Defoe was only five years old in 1665, and the book itself was published under the initials H. F. and is probably based on the journals of Defoe's uncle, Henry Foe. In the book, Defoe goes to great pains to achieve an effect of verisimilitude, identifying specific neighborhoods, streets, and even houses in which events took place. Additionally, it provides tables of casualty figures and discusses the credibility of various accounts and anecdotes received by the narrator. The novel is often compared to the actual, contemporary accounts of the plague in the diary of Samuel Pepys. Defoe's account, which appears to include much research, is far more systematic and detailed than Pepys's first-person account. Henry Morley (15 September 1822 - 1894) was one of the earliest professors of English literature. He was a dynamic lecturer and a prolific writer and editor. The son of an apothecary, he was born in Hatton Garden, London, educated at a Moravian school in Germany] and at King's College London, and after practicing medicine and keeping schools at various places, went in 1850 to London, and adopted literature as his profession. He wrote in periodicals (including Household Words and All the Year Round for Charles Dickens), and from 1859-1864 edited The Examiner. From 1865-89, he was professor of English literature at University College London, where among his pupils was Rabindranath Tagore. From 1882 to 1889, he was principal of University Hall, [1] as Arthur Hugh Clough had been a generation before. The building, on the west side of Gordon Square in the heart of Bloomsbury, at that time also housed Manchester New College, and is now the home of Dr Williams's Library. He was the editor of two book series. Morley's Universal Library, drawing on the age-old concept of a universal library, was published from 1883 by George Routledge. Cassell's National Library was published from 1886, totalling 209 weekly editions. His biography was written by Henry Shaen Solly, the son of prominent reformer Henry Solly. Daniel Defoe ( 1660 - 24 April 1731), born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, pamphleteer, and spy, most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is noted for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain with others such as Samuel Richardson, and is among the founders of the English novel. He was a prolific and versatile writer, producing more than five hundred books, pamphlets, and journals on various topics, including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology, and the supernatural. He was also a pioneer of economic journalism.Daniel Foe (his original name) was probably born in Fore Street in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, London. Defoe later added the aristocratic-sounding "De" to his name, and on occasion claimed descent from the family of De Beau Faux. His birthdate and birthplace are uncertain, and sources offer dates from 1659-1662, with 1660 considered the most likely. His father James Foe was a prosperous tallow chandler and a member of the Worshipful Company of Butchers. In Defoe's early life, he experienced some of the most unusual occurrences in English history: in 1665, 70,000 were killed by the Great Plague of London, and next year............
