Who was Daniel Defoe?
Daniel Defoe (1659 or 61 – 1731) was a pioneering English novelist, the father of modern journalism, a writer who published over 500 works and the author of one of the greatest adventure stories ever written. But with this work he had deeper aims than spinning a good yarn. Daniel Defoe was obsessed with money – the making and losing of it. He thought a guidebook would fill a gap in the market, and make him rich. That’s probably why he wrote the Tour anonymously. He paints an incredible picture of Britain, but hides the person who wrote them. By coming across as a well traveled entrepeneur, Defoe concealed his own notoriety as the 18th century equivalent of Del-Boy.
