Daniel Defoe – 18th-century English writer; Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders; a founder of the European novel. He was a journalist, spy, and political pamphleteer. His works mix adventure, satire, and sharp observation. Defoe pioneered realism and documentary-style fiction.
📚 Robinson Crusoe (1719) is considered the first English bestseller novel. 📰 Worked as a newspaper publisher and political pamphleteer. 🏛️ Imprisoned and put in the pillory for satire, but crowds threw flowers instead of stones. 🕵️ Acted as a government secret agent. 💰 Went bankrupt several times and evaded creditors. 📖 Moll Flanders and A Journal of the Plague Year praised for realism and detail. 🌍 Inspired by Alexander Selkirk, a sailor marooned on an island. 🖋️ Wrote over 500 works, from novels to essays. 🎓 Innovated a “pseudo-documentary” prose style. 🎭 His novels were quickly adapted for the stage. 📜 Some contemporaries called him a “master of embellished journalism.” 🧐 Curious: deliberately included errors in Crusoe to mimic authentic documents. 😄 Funny: used more than 190 pseudonyms throughout his career.