- Title Pages
- Illustration
- Dedication
- Acnowledgements
- List of Illustrations
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 After the Revolution
- 2 The Education of a Dissenter
- 3 Meditating on Matters Spiritual and Secular
- 4 Marriage and Rebellion
- 5 Financial Woes and Recovery
- 6 Propagandist for William III
- 7 <i>The True-Born Englishman</i> and Other Satires
- 8 An Age of Plot and Deceit, of Contradiction and Paradox
- 9 From Pilloried Libeller to Government Propagandist
- 10 ‘Writing History Sheet by Sheet’
- 11 From Public Journalist to Lunar Philosopher
- 12 Defoe as Spy and Whig Propagandist
- 13 A ‘True Spy’ in Scotland
- 14 In Limbo Between Causes and Masters
- 15 Journalism and History in ‘An Age of Mysteries and Paradoxes’<sup>1</sup>
- 16 How to Sell Out While Keeping One’s Integrity (Somewhat) Intact in That ‘Lunatick Age’<sup>1</sup>
- 17 These Dangerous Times
- 18 ‘A Miserable Divided Nation’<sup>1</sup>
- 19 A Change of Monarchs and the Whig’s Revenge
- 20 Times When Honest Men Must Reserve Themselves for Better Fortunes
- 21 Corrector General of the Press: A Digression on Defoe as a Journalist
- 22 The Year Before <i>Robinson Crusoe:</i>
- 23 <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> and the Variability of Life
- 24 After <i>Crusoe</i>:
- 25 Creating Fictional Worlds
- 26 Describing Britain in the 1720s
- 27 Enter Henry Baker
- 28 Last Productive Years
- 29 Sinking Under the Weight of Affliction
- Works Cited
- Index
The Year Before Robinson Crusoe:
The Year Before Robinson Crusoe:
Intellectual Controversies and Experiments in Fiction
- Chapter:
- (p.513) 22 The Year Before Robinson Crusoe:
- Source:
- Daniel Defoe: Master of Fictions
- Author(s):
Maximillian E. Novak
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
During 1717 and 1718, Daniel Defoe responded to a number of important events in a manner that reveals a deepening of moral and ethical views. He never doubted the evils of Jacobitism or the benefits of the Whig succession, but as the government grew stronger after the suppression of the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland, he was not averse to making judgements about the government’s positions or even opposing them on occasions. Although both John Toland and Abel Boyer seemed to find his position contradictory, Defoe felt there was little relationship between the situation that had produced The True-Born Englishman and that involving George I’s attempt to reward foreigners. In Defoe’s eyes, George I and the recipients of his favours bore no resemblance to William III and his heroic Dutch forces who had rescued England from James II. For the most part, however, his belief that in matters of economics and politics human beings were ruled entirely by self-interest had been reinforced by his experiences.
Keywords: Daniel Defoe, Jacobitism, succession, Whigs, rebellion, Scotland, England, John Toland, Abel Boyer, The True-Born Englishman
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
- Title Pages
- Illustration
- Dedication
- Acnowledgements
- List of Illustrations
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 After the Revolution
- 2 The Education of a Dissenter
- 3 Meditating on Matters Spiritual and Secular
- 4 Marriage and Rebellion
- 5 Financial Woes and Recovery
- 6 Propagandist for William III
- 7 <i>The True-Born Englishman</i> and Other Satires
- 8 An Age of Plot and Deceit, of Contradiction and Paradox
- 9 From Pilloried Libeller to Government Propagandist
- 10 ‘Writing History Sheet by Sheet’
- 11 From Public Journalist to Lunar Philosopher
- 12 Defoe as Spy and Whig Propagandist
- 13 A ‘True Spy’ in Scotland
- 14 In Limbo Between Causes and Masters
- 15 Journalism and History in ‘An Age of Mysteries and Paradoxes’<sup>1</sup>
- 16 How to Sell Out While Keeping One’s Integrity (Somewhat) Intact in That ‘Lunatick Age’<sup>1</sup>
- 17 These Dangerous Times
- 18 ‘A Miserable Divided Nation’<sup>1</sup>
- 19 A Change of Monarchs and the Whig’s Revenge
- 20 Times When Honest Men Must Reserve Themselves for Better Fortunes
- 21 Corrector General of the Press: A Digression on Defoe as a Journalist
- 22 The Year Before <i>Robinson Crusoe:</i>
- 23 <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> and the Variability of Life
- 24 After <i>Crusoe</i>:
- 25 Creating Fictional Worlds
- 26 Describing Britain in the 1720s
- 27 Enter Henry Baker
- 28 Last Productive Years
- 29 Sinking Under the Weight of Affliction
- Works Cited
- Index