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A Journal of the Plague Year
A Journal of the Plague Year
Author: Daniel Defoe
In 1665, the Great Plague swept through London, claiming nearly 100,000 lives. In A Journal of the Plague Year, Defoe vividly chronicles the progress of the epidemic. We follow his fictional narrator through a city transformed-the streets and alleyways deserted, the houses of death with crosses daubed on their doors, the dead-carts on the...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780451512352
ISBN-10: 0451512359
Publication Date: 8/1/1960
Pages: 240
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 1

3.5 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: Signet Classics
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
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PhoenixFalls avatar reviewed A Journal of the Plague Year on + 185 more book reviews
Classic though this is, it was hard to really enjoy A Journal of the Plague Year. It was written before the novel form was really developed (at least in England) so it has very little narrative structure, no real plot, and (worst of all) not a single break in the narrative, making it very hard to put down and pick back up. It was also the first (or near first) piece of historical fiction -- mainly because the dividing line between history and fiction was so much looser. It is probably more palatable to a modern reader if read as a history text -- then the insertion of all the weekly bills is less surprising -- but historians have quibbled with quite a few of the facts Defoe reports.

Still, there were plenty of passages that were absolutely riveting. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the development of the novel form, anyone interested in plagues and epidemics in history, and anyone interested in the history of London -- it simply has to be taken on its own terms.


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