TOUR THROUGH THE WHOLE ISLAND OF GREAT BRITAIN
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Product Description
Britain in the early eighteenth century: an introduction that is both informative and imaginative, reliable and entertaining. To the tradition of travel writing Daniel Defoe brings a lifetime's experience as a businessman, soldier, economic journalist and spy, and his Tour (1724-6) is an invaluable source of social and economic history. But this book is far more than a beautifully written guide to Britain just before the industrial revolution, for Defoe possessed a wild, inventive streak that endows his work with astonishing energy and tension, and the Tour is his deeply imaginative response to a brave new economic world. By employing his skills as a chronicler, a polemicist and a creative writer keenly sensitive to the depredations of time, Defoe more than achieves his aim of rendering 'the present state' of Britain.
About the Author
Daniel Defoe (c.1660-1731), one of the most famous writers in English literature, was born in London, the son of James Foe, a butcher. It was Daniel who changed his name to De Foe or Defoe in about 1705. He was interested in politics and opposed King James II. After the Glorious Revolution in 1688 and William III was on the throne, Defoe became one of his personal friends. He became a writer for the government and a satircal writer on various social issues of the time. He turned to full time writing after hearing the inspirational story of a sailor who was rescued after living alone on a desert island in the Pacific, the result being his first novel ROBINSON CRUSOE. Several other adventure stories followed, including MOLL FLANDERS.
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First Sentence
I began my travels, where I purpose to end them, viz. at the city of London, and therefore my account of the city itself will come last, that is to say, at the latter end of my southern progress; and as in the course of this journey I shall have many occasions to call it a circuit, if not a circle, so I chose to give it the title of circuits, in the plural, because I do not pretend to have travelled it all in one journey, but in many, and some of them many times over; the better to inform my self of every thing I could find worth taking notice of. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
I began my travels, where I purpose to end them, viz. at the city of London, and therefore my account of the city itself will come last, that is to say, at the latter end of my southern progress; and as in the course of this journey I shall have many occasions to call it a circuit, if not a circle, so I chose to give it the title of circuits, in the plural, because I do not pretend to have travelled it all in one journey, but in many, and some of them many times over; the better to inform my self of every thing I could find worth taking notice of. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Daniel Defoe surveys Britain with the eye of a range of experts, whose callings, in the early 18th century, were yet to be labelled. He was an economist, a sociologist, an agronomist and a geographer.
Unlike any other account I have read of a tour through our land as either horseman or pedestrian, Defoe is not lamenting some lost past. He has an eye on development. William Cobbett in 'Rural Rides' sighs for an imaginary England of independent, contented farmers and labourers whose prospects have been lately ruined by idiot politicians. George Borrow, in 'Lavengro' and 'Romany Rye' records only the remains of a once intact Romany language or, in 'Wild Wales' a disappearing Wales of bards and contented 'gwerin'. Laurie Lee, in 'As I Walked out One Midsummer Morning' remembers fondly an England whose peace was only just beginning to be disturbed by the emergence of the motor car.
For Defoe there is no stasis in even the sleepiest of villages. Indeed, he views tranquillity as a sign of stagnation. Everywhere there is dynamism; communities are rising or decaying according to the condition of their industry.
Wool and its by products seem to rule. I had heard of 'broadcloth' before, but 'narrowcloth', 'bays', 'kerseys' and 'shalloons' were all new terms to me, but not, I imagine, to his contemporaries.
Factories are few. Production, be it carding, spinning, weaving, knitting or cheese making, is mostly home based. Defoe was a trader himself for much of his life, so we read of the export markets, and, when he visits the ports, we get a full rundown of which products go where. It seems we were still importing substantial quantities of grain from Poland, though, with the late draining of the fens, this was declining and we were developing an export trade in wheat.
Today we wax lyrical about the few remaining wild areas in our crowded land. Defoe regards these, from Bagshot Heath, to the mountains of Scotland and Wales, with something approaching horror. Would he have understood the romantic poets who were writing barely 60 years after his death?
There is some architectural description and afew fragments of historical events associated with some sites, but trade is Defoe's central focus. Canals are yet to appear, but rivers are becoming ever more navigable. The contents page may look like a dreary catalogue of place names, but Defoe's style brings early 18th century Britain to life.
Unlike any other account I have read of a tour through our land as either horseman or pedestrian, Defoe is not lamenting some lost past. He has an eye on development. William Cobbett in 'Rural Rides' sighs for an imaginary England of independent, contented farmers and labourers whose prospects have been lately ruined by idiot politicians. George Borrow, in 'Lavengro' and 'Romany Rye' records only the remains of a once intact Romany language or, in 'Wild Wales' a disappearing Wales of bards and contented 'gwerin'. Laurie Lee, in 'As I Walked out One Midsummer Morning' remembers fondly an England whose peace was only just beginning to be disturbed by the emergence of the motor car.
For Defoe there is no stasis in even the sleepiest of villages. Indeed, he views tranquillity as a sign of stagnation. Everywhere there is dynamism; communities are rising or decaying according to the condition of their industry.
Wool and its by products seem to rule. I had heard of 'broadcloth' before, but 'narrowcloth', 'bays', 'kerseys' and 'shalloons' were all new terms to me, but not, I imagine, to his contemporaries.
Factories are few. Production, be it carding, spinning, weaving, knitting or cheese making, is mostly home based. Defoe was a trader himself for much of his life, so we read of the export markets, and, when he visits the ports, we get a full rundown of which products go where. It seems we were still importing substantial quantities of grain from Poland, though, with the late draining of the fens, this was declining and we were developing an export trade in wheat.
Today we wax lyrical about the few remaining wild areas in our crowded land. Defoe regards these, from Bagshot Heath, to the mountains of Scotland and Wales, with something approaching horror. Would he have understood the romantic poets who were writing barely 60 years after his death?
There is some architectural description and afew fragments of historical events associated with some sites, but trade is Defoe's central focus. Canals are yet to appear, but rivers are becoming ever more navigable. The contents page may look like a dreary catalogue of place names, but Defoe's style brings early 18th century Britain to life.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This really is an extraordinary record of Defoe's travels around the whole island: how he managed to cover the distances on horseback is beyond imagination. The blizzard he encountered in August (!!) between Rochdale and Halifax is well described. His record of places is very detailed and full of interest. It is not an 'easy' read, being quite dense, but well worthwhile. I now know where the phrase "on tenterhooks" originated. His description of London in those days is fascinating to anyone who knows it now.
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