ABSTRACT
A Journal of the Plague Year is an historical account in that Daniel Defoe went to 'historical' documents for some of the information that appears, often so baldly, in the narrative. A Journal of the Plague Year is, like Robinson Crusoe, preoccupied with the detection of God's hand in the life of one man. The plague had become sharply topical when Defoe wrote his fabricated memoir. In 1720, plague had arrived in Marseilles, exciting considerable anxiety in England and a rash of publications. These included accounts of the Marseilles outbreak and proposals for measures to be taken should the plague reach Britain. The plague bacillus is highly toxic, and the terror of victims in Defoe's account when they discover the symptoms in themselves or their families is well founded. It is estimated that in most epidemics between 60 and 80 per cent of those infected would die. The plague equally demands natural understanding and religious interpretation.
