A Journal of the Plague Year

Written by Daniel Defoe nearly sixty years after the bubonic plague of 1665 swept through London, “A Journal of the Plague Year”, published in 1722, is an historically accurate account of one man’s experiences during a year of the Great Plague. In astonishing detail, Defoe takes readers through a vivid and horrific tour of the neighborhoods, houses, and streets that have drastically changed as the city is ravaged by the plague. The bustle of business and errands gives way to doors marked with the cross to signify a house of death, as well as the dead-carts transporting those destined for the mass graves, as the number of victims rises to nearly 100,000. As the epidemic progresses and the narrator encounters more stories of isolation and horror, Defoe reveals his masterful balance as both a historical and imaginative writer. He is able to convey both the massive scale of the tragedy and the deeply personal stories of the victims and survivors. Believed to have been based on the journals of his uncle Henry Foe, Defoe’s classic is widely regarded as one of the most accurate and detailed accounts of the Great Plague and its toll on London’s citizens. This edition includes a biographical afterword.