The life & strange surprising adventures of Daniel Defoe - Richard West

A lively, entertaining and authoritative biography of one of the masters of the English language and the first great English journalist and novelist, Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) - best known for Robinson Crusoe (the world bestseller of all time), Moll Flanders, Roxana, A Journal of the Plague Year and A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain.

Daniel Defoe's life was packed with incident and drama. Born in the year of the Restoration of the Monarchy after the English Civil War, he remained a Nonconformist throughout his life, actively rebelled against James II, travelled the country as a spy for King William and Queen Mary, worked in Scotland on active behalf of the historic Union of Scotland and England, helped launch the South Sea Company, was bankrupted frequently as a businessman, was imprisoned for libel and debt, and died a pauper.

- Spectacularly well-reviewed: 'lively and entertaining' Peter Ackroyd, The Times; 'Richard West's chatty, humane approach is backed by formidable familiarity with Defoe's massive output' John Carey, Sunday Times; 'minutely researched, highly entertaining' Kate Saunders, Observer; 'written with a pace and clarity of which Defoe would have approved' Peter Lewis, Daily Mail; 'comprehensive reading and a rich source of information, painlessly conveyed' T.L.S.