Today there is no consensus on the year in which Daniel Defoe, the English writer, was known to our reader primarily as the author of the novel "Robinson Crusoe". Some tend to think in 1660, while other biographers and historians are sure that Daniel Fo was born in 1661 in London. Yes, do not be surprised, there is no typo in the text. The real name of the famous writer is Fo.
Childhood and youth
Daniel's father sold meat and dreamed that his son would become a pastor, so young Daniel was enrolled in a theological seminary. At the Morton Academy in Stoke Newington, a future author of Robinson Crusoe studied Greek, Latin, and classical literature. But after graduating from the academy at age 19, Daniel Fo begins to engage in entrepreneurial activity.
Businessman and pamphleteer
He takes his first steps in commerce as a clerk at a hosiery dealer, where he studies the basics of trading. For the first time, she travels, exclusively for commercial purposes, to Portugal, Italy, Spain and France. Subsequently, Danielle Fo will buy a stocking factory, then a tile and brick factory. An adventurer by nature, Mr. Fo invests in projects that were questionable for that time and as a result becomes bankrupt.
Failures on the commercial front do not pave the way for Daniel. In addition to commerce, the political life of the country is of great interest to the future novelist. His political activity was directed against the reigning king Jacob II, he wrote satirical poems and pamphlets in which he mocked the royal court and the ruling aristocracy. The most popular of them is written in 1701, "Purebred Englishman." The pamphlet was so topical that the authorities sentenced the author to a shameful pillar, a gigantic fine, and put him in jail until all sentences were executed. Standing tied to a pillory, the pamphleteer watched the people of London give him sympathy and support. Its production crashed: the plant finally went bankrupt while the owner was in a prison cell.
In fact, Daniel Fo owed his freedom to the Minister and Speaker of the House of Commons, Robert Harley. The speaker pulled the writer out of prison and offered him the job of a secret agent in Scotland and England. In 1704, the particle De was added to the surname Fo, so the owner of the surname decided to emphasize his aristocratic origin. And in the same year he receives a position in the periodical Review. Here he works until 1713, writes and edits articles, becomes a well-known political observer. In parallel with his work at the publishing house, Defoe writes literary works.
First book
In 1719, the writer’s first book , Robinson Crusoe, was published. The author is a stunning success. The name Daniel Defoe is included in the history of world literature. Popularity was gained not only by the writer, but also by Robinson Crusoe himself. The author endowed the protagonist with an unbending character and thirst for life. In the wake of the success of the first book, Defoe immediately releases a sequel about the life of the protagonist - “Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe”, and a year later the author writes “Serious Thoughts Throughout Life and Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Including His Visions of the Angelic World”. But these works did not delight readers.
The whole world believes that the protagonist of the novel "Robinson Crusoe", whose author Daniel Defoe, is a real character. At the heart of the work is really a story that happened with another sailor. Few people know that such wonderful works as The Happy Courtesan, The Joy and Sorrows of Moth Flanders, The Story of Colonel Jack, etc., have also come out of the master’s pen. But the main book was and still is Robinson Crusoe. The author and his character went through life all the same together.
The famous novelist died in poverty and oblivion, at the age of 71, in London.