On this date in 1731, Daniel Defoe died. 10 things you might not know about the author of Robinson Crusoe.
The exact date and place of Defoe’s birth isn’t known, but is thought to have been somewhere near Cripplegate in London around 1660.
His name at birth was Daniel Foe, and his father was a tallow chandler of Flemish descent. The “De” was added later, possibly to make his name sound more aristocratic.
The family were Presbyterians, which at the time was virtually a crime, making them dissenters in the eyes of the English government. Daniel decided against becoming a Presbyterian minister and went into business instead.
Trade and business were what he referred to as his “beloved subject.” He travelled a lot on business, traded in a variety of commodities and studied economic theory; but sadly he wasn’t always successful. His ventures were plagued with bad luck. Defoe would write of himself, “No man has tasted differing fortunes more, And thirteen times I have been rich and poor.” One of his failed ventures was harvesting musk from the anal glands of Cats.
Perhaps the biggest failure was insuring ships during the war with France. Nineteen “merchants insurers” were ruined by this in 1692, and Defoe was one of them. He was bankrupt and spent time in debtor’s prison, but even so managed to pay off most of his debts within 10 years.
He was a spy. He was sent to Scotland to find out what the people there thought of the union with England and report back to King William. His excuse for being there was that he was writing a piece called The History of the Union of Great Britain. He almost failed as a spy, as well, as his ability to talk to people in coffee houses and get their stories from them, while in some ways an essential skill, also meant he risked bragging about his true purpose for being there.
His wife’s name was Mary Tuffley. Not much is known about her, but they were married for 47 years and had eight children.
He is most famous for Robinson Crusoe, but he wrote many other things as well, including more novels, including Moll Flanders, Roxana and Captain Singleton. He also wrote two sequels to Robinson Crusoe: The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe and Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe. He didn’t just write fiction, either. He was a pioneer of travel writing with A Tour Thro’ the Whole Island of Great Britain, Divided into Circuits or Journies, and he was also a prolific writer of political pamphlets. Some of the latter got him into trouble – he was once put in the pillory for writing a pamphlet called The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, which attacked the treatment of religious dissenters in England. Luckily for him, the general public agreed with the sentiment as they allegedly threw Flowers at him rather than rotten tomatoes. He also produced a weekly periodical practically single-handedly for nine years, even while he was serving time in prison for his political views.
He narrowly escaped death a couple of times. His was one of just three houses left standing when the Great fire of London hit in 1666, and after he fought in the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685, he somehow escaped being hanged with other rebels.
He died in 1731, of a ‘lethargy’, which was probably what we would call today a stroke.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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