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A Journal of the Plague Year (Paperback)

by Daniel Defoe (Author), Anthony Burgess (Introduction)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics (29 May 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0140437851
ISBN-13: 978-0140437850
Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 134,533 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#10 in Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Burgess, Anthony
#14 in Books > Fiction > The Classics > Defoe, Daniel

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Product Description

In 1665 the plague swept through London, claiming over 97,000 lives. Daniel Defoe was just five at the time of the plague, but he later called on his own memories, as well as his writing experience, to create this vivid chronicle of the epidemic and its victims. 'A Journal' (1722) follows Defoe's fictional narrator as he traces the devastating progress of the plague through the streets of London. Here we see a city transformed: some of its streets suspiciously empty, some - with crosses on their doors - overwhelmingly full of the sounds and smells of human suffering. And every living citizen he meets has a horrifying story that demands to be heard.

About the Author

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) had a variety of careers including merchant, soldier, secret agent, and political pamphleteer. He wrote economic texts, history, biography, crime, and most famously fiction, including Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders and Roxana. Cynthia Wall is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Virginia.

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

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4 star:		(6)
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Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important book!, 4 Mar 2005

By	Lei-Lei Jayenne (Leytonstone, London) - See all my reviews

This is a brilliant history book, written as fiction by Defoe, who was 5-years-old and stayed living in London throughout the Plague of 1665. He wrote this book some years later from his remembrances of things he saw and heard. Placing himself in the character of a young man, we read stories of great sorrow and great hope alike. Giving us a fascinating insight into the nature of varied human responses to tragedy and disaster. So we learn about people who put their own lives on the line going out to work sometimes in the houses of the already infected just to be able to feed and clothe their family, and then we learn about disturbing characters who used the opportunity for their own ill-gotten gains. It's disturbing to learn that young women were still attacked and raped in the streets of London, and houses were still robbed despite having the 'cross' sign of the Plague infection on their doors.
The book doesn't just centre on the streets of London but travels into the surrounding countryside, remember even places like Walthamstow were at the time considered to be outside London, and very much the countryside.
During it's worst months, thousands of people, both infected and not, were attempting an escape to what they thought was the safety of the country, only to be confronted with pitch-fork wielding locals at the village gates telling them to go away in no uncertain terms. But of course even these people succumbed in the end.
This is not a pleasant read, what with Plague pit descriptions, stories of babies suckling the breasts of their long-dead mothers, and in-depth descriptions of the symptoms. But i believe it's an important read, being both an interesting look at the human psyche and behaviour patterns in a time of great distress, panic and fright, and also as probably the most accurate account of one of this country's most tragic years.
The book touches on the Great Fire of 1666 aswell, and the conclusion the reader is lead to, is that London was a completely different place following those 2 events, even to this very day. A particularly riveting read if you are either a Londoner by birth or live in London.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and at times quite grisly, 7 Aug 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Defoe : Journal Of The Plague Year (Everyman) (Paperback)

What I like best about DeFoe is that he is very readable and can hold your attention for hours. Sure, he can contradict himself at times and he does have a flair for repetition and while he is not above pointing out the obvious, DeFoe is extremely interesting. "A Journal of the Plague Year" contains all the things DeFoe is noted for including a sharp eye for detail and sly humour. I liked this book and recommend it mainly because much of what DeFoe observed about human nature in the early 18th century is still relevant today.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars creative journalism, 3 April 2006

By	DH Dixon "whitespeck" (England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This edition restores Defoe's original punctuation, with capitals for nouns and colons for stops, so the writing has the vitality, weight and elasticity that Defoe meant when he wrote it. I wish Penguin's print was more comfortable to read and blacker.

I first read this book in the early 1970s as a work of fiction because it has been classified as such since the 19th century, and I found the plot dull. When I read it again twenty years later I realized why - this book isn't fiction at all. It is a factual account of what happened in London in 1665, based on his uncle Henry Foe's eyewitness experience, which is blended with Defoe's journalistic research after the event. The result is a marvellous work of journalism that has the vividness of an eyewitness account, taking the reader right into the events, and the mastery of Defoe's talent and research of the whole subject. The eyewitness account is turned into a most vivid masterpiece.

If you try to read the Journal of the Plague Year as fiction it will seem dull because it can't satisfy as such. It doesn't have any of the effects that go with fiction such as plot, fantasy, author's design, or character development. However it is beautifully constructed.

The Journal of the Plague Year is a great work of journalism and is (as far as I know) the most vivid account of any historic event in English. It is great to read and browse in as well.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars "Bring Out Your Dead!"
Fiction it might be, though apparently based on the diaries of his uncle Henry Foe (the H.F. who purportedly authors the account) Daniel Defoes "Journal of the Plague Year" is a... Read more

Published 1 month ago by S Wood

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
This is a great book. I found the style heavy going at first, but once I got into it I found this book impossible to put down - this is a glimpse into the past that we should be... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Rob_Notts

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Imagination
Imagine every other person in your social circle, family, friends, workplace and high street dropping dead. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Capt John Rowlands

5.0 out of 5 stars stunning
this is my all-time favourite book. the descriptions of the disease are so vital. the book gives a great overview of how life was like back then. Read more

Published on 27 Feb 2006 by addannika

4.0 out of 5 stars Rivetting factual account
A Journal of the Plague Year argues its case better by a bald statement of facts, than by any elaborate literary devices. Read more

Published on 30 Jun 2002 by A. J. Watson

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark, gripping, and sad story based on a truthful account.
If you skip the depressing death bills, this story will grip you and won't let you go until the end. If you are a history major this story will give you insight into 1660's. Read more

Published on 10 Jun 2000 by tamaramolina@hotmail.com

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating 17th Century Docu-Soap account of the Plague.
I was interested in this book because it promised an account by one who was there and not by student historians who make a living by guessing our past. Read more

Published on 29 April 2000 by rob@cooperbrown.com

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and at times quite grisly
What I like best about DeFoe is that he is very readable and can hold your attention for hours. Sure, he can contradict himself at times and he does have a flair for repetition... Read more

Published on 7 Aug 1999

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