Enlightenment

18th-century English Novels

Whereas prior to the Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737 the economic motivations for dramatists were potentially vast, the censorship of stage works turned attention to the novel. Previously deemed of limited interest amongst writers, novel publication became ever more attractive as booksellers and authors were forced to explore the vast artistic and commercial potential inherent in the genre. By muzzling anti-Walpolean sentiments on the stage, dissenting authors were given a literary tool no less powerful. In the development of journalism, drama and satire the foundations of the modern novel were established.


Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (1719)

Written by Daniel Defoe (ca. 1659-1731) and published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe is a fictional autobiography of a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers before being rescued. The oft-made claim that Defoe is England’s first true novelist is of partial veracity. In reality, the autobiographical style of Robinson Crusoe (probably his 412th work) grew out of Defoe’s other work in biography, polemics, history and travel writing: it is unlikely he would have seen his fictional prose as a new art form. Nevertheless, the huge success of Robinson Crusoe led to innumerable imitators throughout Europe in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Defoe (Daniel), The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. 2vols. 8vo. London, 1736
[R.7.11-12]
Former owner: David Hughes (1727-77)