The son of James Foe, Defoe changed his name in 1703. He was educated at Newington Green and became a follower of William of Orange. His The True-Born Englishman (1701) was a very popular defense of William. Defoe had taken part in Monmouth's rebellion and was a soldier for a time in William's army. An avid pamphleteer, one of his works, The Shortest Way with Dissenters (1702), resulted in his imprisonment and fine. He was again imprisoned briefly in 1712 by the Whigs for treasonable publications and in 1715, he was convicted of libel, but escaped imprisonment. The first volume of his popular Robinson Crusoe, appeared in 1719, followed a few months later by The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, both immensely popular. His other important works included Moll Flanders (1720), Journal of the Plague Year (1722), The History of Peter the Great (1722), A New Voyage Around the World (1724), and The Four Voyages of Capt. George Roberts (1726). |
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