ABSTRACT
Extracts from The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Mr. D . . . De F. . ., of London, Hosier. This has become by far the best known of the contemporary attacks on Defoe, although it was merely one of the long series of pamphlets using irony, parody and innuendo (as well as direct abuse) to blacken Defoe. It was edited by Paul Dottin in 1923. The author, Charles Gildon (1665–1724), was a miscellaneous writer with a special interest in drama. By the end of his life he was blind and destitute, but he was not to be spared his well-merited niche in The Dunciad. As critic, compiler and scandalous biographer, he was one of the most representative figures in Grub Street; and his irritation against Defoe was no doubt intensified by the thought that the hugely-successful Robinson Crusoe had been turned out by one he must long have regarded as a fellow-scribbler. The pamphlet is built round two sections: an imaginary dialogue between Defoe, Crusoe and Friday; and ‘remarks’ on Crusoe’s life.
