DanielDefoe(1660-1731)LifeDefoewasbornasthesonofJamesFoe,abutcherofStrokeNewington.HestudiedatCharlesMorton'sAcademy,London.AlthoughhisNonconformistfatherintendedhimfortheministry,Defoeplungedintopoliticsandtrade,travelingextensivelyinEurope.Intheearly1680sDefoewasacommissionmerchantinCornhillbutwentbankruptin1691.In1684hemarriedMaryTuffley,theyhadtwosonsandfivedaughters.WorkexperienceMerchantSoldierNewsreporterPamphleteerJournalistNovelistCharacteristicsofhisnovelsThecentralcharactersinhisnovelsareusuallylower-lasspeople,thedown-trodden,theunfortunateandthecriminals,likewhore,pirate,pickpocket,rogue.KnownasPicaresquenovel.Thecentralideaofhisnovelsismanisgoodandnoblebynature,butmaybecorruptedbyanevilsocialenvironment.Hisnovelsarethefirstliteraryworksdevotedtothestudyoftheproblemsofthelowerclasspeople.Thedetailsofhisnovelsareusuallyorganizedinavividwayandhisstoriesarebothcredibleandfascinating.Hewantedhisreaderstoregardhisnovelsastruestoriesandsohedeliberatelyavoidsallartinwriting.Hislanguageissmooth,easy,colloquialandmostlyvernacular.EvaluationThefatheroftheEnglishnovel.BritishwriterofeighteenthcenturyBritain,thefounderoftherealisticnovel.ThemainworksTheRobinsonCrusoeCaptainSingletonMollFlandersColonelJacqueAJournalPlagueYears