The Life of Daniel De Foe

The narrative traces the subject's uncertain origins and family background, his education at a dissenting academy, and early political pamphleteering. It follows participation in partisan struggles and a short military episode, then shifts to commercial ventures, financial reverses, and industrious recovery. The account surveys a large and sometimes disputed corpus of writings, controversies over attribution, and episodes of public service, while weighing personal honesty and character. Anecdote, contemporary testimony, and documentary detail are combined into a chronological, evaluative biography that concludes with a compiled list of the subject's works.