A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great BritainBritain in the early eighteenth century: an introduction that is both informative and imaginative, reliable and entertaining. To the tradition of travel writing Daniel Defoe brings a lifetime's experience as a businessman, soldier, economic journalist and spy, and his Tour (1724-6) is an invaluable source of social and economic history. But this book is far more than a beautifully written guide to Britain just before the industrial revolution, for Defoe possessed a wild, inventive streak that endows his work with astonishing energy and tension, and the Tour is his deeply imaginative response to a brave new economic world. By employing his skills as a chronicler, a polemicist and a creative writer keenly sensitive to the depredations of time, Defoe more than achieves his aim of rendering 'the present state' of Britain. |
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A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain Daniel Defoe,Anthony J. Coulson Limited preview - 1991 |
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Act of Parliament ancient antiquity beautiful Bishop bridge Britain building built called Camden carried castle Celia Fiennes church city of London coast Colchester Court decayed Defoe Defoe's Deptford Duke Earl east England English famous farther Firth fish foot formerly gardens gentlemen gentry ground harbour Harwich hence hill horses inhabitants Ipswich island journey King kings of Scotland land late Lord manufacture market town merchants miles mountains navigable noble observed occasion palace Parliament particular pass piece pleasant poor populous port prodigious quantity Queen rich ride river River Thames River Trent road Roman royal royal navy ruins Scotland Scots seat seen ships shire shore side Southampton Southwark stands stone street Suffolk Thames thence thing told Tour trade Trent Tunbridge villages whole William Wiltshire wonder Yarmouth